Battle Against Chronos: The Relic War
by evil-catgirl
Summary: Alternative universe: The Herd, their friends, their enemies from the past and more unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet - the time keeper Chronos. To survive, they have to help each other and save not only the valley, but the entire world. It all comes down to this. (The idea owner and leader/helper for this story is GrayestLobster7 also credit goes to him :)
1. The Vision, Chronos and Grayson

The head of the herd woke up disoriented and screaming. Manny noticed how someone he knew tried to calm him down immediately. Of course it was his wife who was first looking after his wellbeing. And she was fine. Why should she be not? What he just saw in his dream was still fresh in his head, as if it had really been real. Still, it was definitely not. Just an extraordinarily cruel nightmare. The mammoth hadn't seen anything like that in his sleep for a long time. He thought it was because he was living a happy life now.

Manfred tried to get his breath back under control. Surely he ate only the wrong fruits last night and got hallucinations because of that.

"Manny, what's wrong?" Diego suddenly wanted to know from him and he tried hard to think about how the saber tooth came here so quickly. Then he remembered the little gathering last night that they were all around a campfire and fell asleep in the beautiful spot.

"Wait! Who extinguished the fire?" Manny asked in panic and looked around for the fireplace. Maybe he breathed in too much smoke and that's why he dreams so badly.

"That was you, honey." Ellie assured him and put her trunk on his forehead as if he had a fever.

"I am fine. Slept badly because we had to stay here. My bones just can't take it anymore." He complained a little so that you could blame his discomfort on that.

"What are you yelling at? You just woke up Scrat." Sid said now and he also rumbled his eyes wearily.

"He looked so cute on his big acorn. But Manny is right, we can't lie around here all day. So thank you for waking us up." Brooke came along and gave her sloth a kiss on the cheek as a morning greeting. Scrat just nodded wearily.

"Surely it must've been a bad dream." Shira added, who was a little further away but still had very good ears. It sounded really awful to her.

"So tell us what happened." Ellie asked her husband a little more clearly.

"Yeah, tell us." Suddenly Buck jumped awake in the middle. The only one who didn't look like he'd been through the night. The weasel wrapped half coconuts around himself and made a skirt of long leaves and danced hula, just like Sid.

"I had a dream and you were all in it, but it was not a dream. It was a vision. We were all wounded or dead, except one raccoon, who is fighting some type of god at the top of some temple. The raccoon's name is Grayson. We have to find him. He knows the answers." The oldest mammoth was so sure about it, even if he knew he sounded a bit confused. He didn't want his dream to come true, so he had to do something and his friends will definitely help him.

"A raccoon? I hate raccoons! They lie, they cheat, and they steal." Again, Gladys was not at a loss for comments. She had to say her opinion everywhere. Whether asked or not.

"We don't know unless we actually see him." Teddy first stretched, because he was somehow lying on something uncomfortable. Next time I'm going to lie down on a mammoth too, he thought.

"Us wounded? Why do you dream of that stuff?" Eddie wanted to know who was sitting on his sister, because something like that never came from his brother-in-law. He always made things sensible. There came also a Crash up.

"Or ... dead?" The possum brothers embraced each other in fear at the idea that their life would soon end.

"I hope this Grayson can help us. But I think everything is or will going to be okay, Dad." Peaches tried to cheer up her father like her mother. The son-in-law also patted the old mammoth on the shoulder soothingly.

"Well, sounds like this Grayson is a hero." Julian didn't know much about the guy yet, but he was looking forward to getting to know him.

"And he's fighting some type of god? What was the god figure like?" Now Gavin managed to move up. Also because he had to keep watching the molehog, this was too close to his daughter all night. He just doesn't like that.

"Don't you think we should investigate where or what this godlike figure is?" Louis couldn't quite imagine what was being said, but he tried to think along.

"Or we could find this Grayson and convince him to join us or something." Gertie has rarely seen raccoons, she just assumed they looked a little like opossums or moles.

"Grayson ... Grayson .." Ethan tried to remember that animal back at the new hangout for the Brat Pack. Then the memory hit him.

"Oh yeah! Grayson. Gray and white colored, big ringtail, slick fur and golden eyes. But I haven't seen him for six weeks."

"What have I discussed with you about strangers? No matter now. Six weeks? Don't you think that was more a month ago?" Steffie yawned heartily and was a little offended that her boyfriend let her lie there. The scream could have been dangerous and Ethan just walks away from her.

"Yeah, is it?" Meghan interfered to show that she was still there.

"Ouch." Katie wanted to say something too, but suddenly something hit her in the side. She looked there confused.

"Sorry." Roger shook his head because he had run against the bright mammoth. Somehow, he has too much energy in his body every morning.

"Yeah, I think so too." The Dino and Katie really started talking at the same time.

"What?" They looked at each other briefly.

"And who may you be?" The young Raptor wanted to know.

"My name is Katie, yours?"

"Roger, and I'm a Dakotaraptor."

"I know what you are, Roger."

"Oh, well that's good."

"You seem pretty nice ..."

"And nerdy." Buddy also joined the conversation, which he had slept in too. He actually just went up only because he was getting hungry.

"Oh hush, buddy!" Katie and Roger gave out almost simultaneously.

"We keep repeating each other again." Said the raptor, grinning a little.

"I know, right? We must have a psychic connection." Katie smiled nicely at him too.

"Pfft, yeah right." Because Gavin thought that was nonsensical.

"Hopefully that one I can see." Said the male saber-toothed tiger with interest. Roger looked irritated at the big cat and his father.

"And why do you want to see it in action?"

"No reason." Diego shook off the thought. More important things were on the plan now.

"OK. Right. Well, I never thought I'd be saying this, but.." Katie smiled at Roger and spoke again.

"..let's find a racoon." Both looked at each other in surprise. Well, more pleased now, because this connection somehow seemed to please both of them. Anyway, it was something great new unknown.

"Huh, maybe it is some psychic connection." The young Raptor couldn't explain it otherwise.

"Yeah." Katie was certain she needed to do more research on this.

"Now wait just a trunk drinking minute, kids. We got some options here. First we find this raccoon and find some answers to our problems and maybe convince him to join us. Or second solution, we find this godlike figure and confront him ourselves." The herd guide explained serious, so that there could be no confusion on the square. Manny looked at the little squirrel. Can't hurt if he decides once, he thought.

"The choice is yours, little guy." Everyone looked at Scrat, who took a stick into his little paws. Of course, Peaches continued to watch over his acorn, otherwise he wouldn't try to trace a raccoon on the floor.

"Dude, he can do that better than you." Crash praised the squirrel and pushed his brother away to see the picture better.

"Shut up!" Eddie said and jumped next to Scrat.

"The decision has been made." Sid announced cheerfully.

"We are looking for the god." He continued, because he had no idea what the smaller one was scribbling in the dirt. Scrat should really be taking lessons from me, he thought superior.

"We'll do the other one, Sid." His saber-tooth buddy explained to him after this rolled his eyes again.

It took a while for everyone from the herd to get ready to start walking. Nobody wanted to stay behind today because a new adventure always sounded exciting.

Of course, Scrat insisted that someone takes his large acorn with him. After all, you can't leave such a treasure anywhere. Peaches happily offered to help. Ethan and Julian gave themselves a secret trunk-shake and talked only for themselves on the way.

Roger tried to walk unobtrusively next to Katie, although he could actually fly with his father. But he thought it would not be bad if he got to know the bright mammoth a little more. Unfortunately he stumbled over a stone while chatting and bumped into her again. Fortunately, she didn't take it the bad way. He found it embarrassing anyway.

Meghan, Steffie and the old Dakotaraptor watched the two of them for a while because they had nothing better to do, and of course he kept changing his gaze to his daughter and the spiked ball so that the little one could keep his paws with him.

"How long is that going to take? My feet are killing me!" Of course Sid whined first.

"We just ran through the forest. I can still see the beach from here where we slept." Diego couldn't understand how quickly the sloth started to whine today. They all had breakfast before they started.

"Does someone want to carry me?"

"No!" Manny answers for everyone, because his buddy will probably survive a short hike. He didn't complain either. It was probably because he had this strange dream. If someone else had gotten on with it, he didn't know if he wanted to get on the way so quickly. It sounded crazy. But his herd trusted him. What he was thankful for.

Sid was quickly reassured by his girlfriend. Brooke whispered that she could carry him, but the male sloth thankfully declined. Also, it wasn't long before he and a few others in the group were distracted by something else.

"Now what the heck is that?" Roger wanted to know, irritated, who naturally noticed a lot in the area with his good eyes. But some others must have noticed the strange shiny thing too.

"What is it, Roger?" Ethan asked, not seeing anything noticeable yet. The rest, with the not so good eyes, now stood next to Roger to see something.

"Good news, weird news; I found something in the distance, but..." Explained the young Raptor.

"The hell? Why would there be something huge in the distance?" Shira wanted to know, but somehow the thing seemed familiar to her. She tried to remember if Gutt ever had one those.

"There's gotta be a connection somehow, a giant certain ... Buck, what's it called?" Roger continued and looked at the weasel.

"How do I know? You always pretend I've already been around the world and yes ok, I know what it is. It is an hourglass." Buck said cool.

"Oh, a certain giant hourglass is standing before us." Then the young Dino uttered, as if not everyone could see it now, even if the thing seemed far away, somehow it came closer, although everyone here had stopped walking.

"I'm getting a rather strange new scent." Diego smelled sand in the air, even though the beach is too far away for that. But there was another unknown smell.

"Sand!" Cried Crash outraged.

"That's exactly what I'm smelling." The saber tooth confirmed.

"No, sand!" The opossum jumped on Diego's head, pulling his ear that the big cat was looking in the same direction.

Grains rolled across the floor and formed a figure in front of our herd. The being was like a human and somehow not, because none of them saw bipeds ever do anything like that. The apparition was wrapped in black, white, and gold robes. The human carried a kind of rope and strange shiny things around his body. The eye color resembled the blue sky.

"Well, well, well, haven't we gotten far for an unlikely capable band of animals. I am Chronos, master of time and the creator of the very Hourglass you see before you. Your defeated villains have sent me to end this little charade, so you won't be leaving my time with your very lives. I swear it!" Imagined the being and everyone was surprised that they understood him. Otherwise the animals would not do that with normal humans. Admittedly, normal people don't appear out of nowhere. The leader of the herd, after a brief astonishment, tried to speak.

"Look Chronos, we don't want any trouble. We're just passing through."

"You may think passing through here is the obvious choice, but you thought wrong." Answered this Chronos as if he or she was talking about something completely different. Then the something made a movement with which it formed something in the air to demonstrate power.

A large, shiny white something that resembled a kind of cave suddenly appeared before the eyes of the astonished animals. The huge floating thing had a scary blue aura that gave everyone goose bumps. Everyone now knew roughly that the normalities were not right here.

"Like ..." Julian just couldn't think of more. Roger and Louis swallowed loudly, although several others did too.

"Now do you believe me?" Chronos asked sublimely. Some just nodded. They were all too surprised to say more.

"In that case, I will be waiting for you." The creature spoke almost amused and disappeared into nothing as it appeared before. At least most of the animals in the group suddenly felt like they were on the way again, as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

"So, did someone else just see that or was the papaya bad I had for breakfast?" Sid wanted to know from his friends and pressed himself against his girlfriend so that she couldn't suddenly disappear.

"Would say both." Ellie answered to get back to the bottom of the truth. Someone had to stay calm and her husband looked like he was about to lose it.

"The idiot is to blame himself if he steals the fruits of ants." Gladys added, slightly annoyed, because her grandson's little complaints were of little interest to her now.

"Guys concentrate a little bit on our task! That is we definitely need to find this Grayson now. Ethan, did you talk to Grayson about any places he wanted to go?"

"Yes, spit it out buddy.. before an accident happens here." Buck almost jumped the red-brown mammoth in the face to get answers from the bigger one.

"Yes?" Answer the mammoth named Buddy.

"Um, not you. I'm talking to Red-fur here."

"Somebody can take that to the liana!" The head of the herd complained, because the weasel was not yet fully awake, even if it looked like it. Buck wasn't helpful like that.

"Well, I think he wanted to go to his own place at Mammal's Crown." Ethan uttered and stepped away from Buck, who was pulled back by Julian.

"Mammal's Crown?" Sid and the male saber tooth came almost simultaneously.

"Where it has sandy beaches, fine grasslands and jungles, clear water pools and delicious fruits and nuts?" Diego asked questioningly.

"Yeah." Ethan nodded in confirmation of his answer.

"Wait a minute! Brooke and me went there for vacation last year, but we didn't see Grayson there." Sid remembered the nice trip with his girlfriend.

"That's because he was on a walkabout across the continent."

"A walkabout? You mean for training?" Now Shira intervened with interest.

"Yeah. But I don't think for training or anything like that. He told me that he was trying to find a place to call home."

"Aren't we all looking for something at some point." Julian smiled briefly at his wife and she did the same.

"His father told him he was destined for greatness and never give up on finding a great place and finding a new life with a new family." Ethan added thoughtfully that he didn't really want to leave out information. But who could have thought that he would have to remember a simple conversation because it will be important later.

"Do they think of him as a screwup or something?" The male sloth said freely.

"Honey, don't say that. He certainly isn't." Brooke was sure there was something good in everyone.

"Well no, not exactly. His family thought it was about time that every young raccoon must head out and leave the family in honor." Continued the red-brown mammoth.

"Ok, then we would have clarified where we have to go now. Come on, let's head to Mammal's Crown before this Chronos has any more surprises for us." Because Manfred didn't really want to waste unnecessary time.

Unfortunately, our group did not have a long opportunity to hike through the valley in peace because they were disturbed again. The silver-haired tigress smelled it first with her nose, which was again in the air.

"Oh no, Chronos is back!" Shira explained when she clearly recognized the sandy scent. Grains rose again into the air and a whirlpool formed. Sid raised his paw to his eyes as if he was looking in bright light because he was trying to see something. Several shadows formed in the sandstorm. They weren't really like the outline of the being that they met before.

"I don't think so, Shira. It doesn't look like the guy. That looks more like…" The sloth narrowed its eyes even more.

"Saber-toothed tigers?! But how ... how is that possible after all this time?" Diego was shocked when his old pack actually stood in front of them. A little worried, Shira looked back and forth between her boyfriend and the strangers, but found it better not to ask questions now.

"No, you're not real!" Diego tried to deny the whole thing because he was sure he would never see Lenny, Zeke, Oscar and Soto again. He wanted to live on with that thought. Apparently, fate didn't allow him that.

"Ahhhh!" Sid stormed into Brooke's arms for protection. But there wasn't even time to calm the screamer, because a wave of sand made creatures appear that Ellie hadn't seen for a long time.

"Is this that Cretaceous fish?" Ellie remembered one of Buck's many stories she listened to with her brothers. Dinosaur fish that she had seen in real times also appeared. Not that she was particularly keen to see them again.

"And there is Maelstrom? And why can they breathe in the air?" Eddie panicked.

"Air fish? Dude, that's what I call progressive development." Crash would also find it brilliant if his knees weren't shaking with fear.

"Oh no, not those sea creatures again." Manny also thought that once meeting them was enough.  
A huge white dino with red eyes appeared spontaneously from the sand now.

"Hello again, Rudy. Long time no see. What were you up to?" Buck was the only one who saw the whole thing as ordinary everyday occurrences.

"Rudy too?! This is ridiculous!" Complained a trembling Sidney. But the sandstorm also ignored his whine and so more and more enemies from the past came out of the sand. So also a too self-confident pirate and his crew.

"What are you doing here?" Brooke asked just as kindly when she spotted a well-known llama. But the animal did not even think about paying attention to her.

"Shangri Llama? Captain Gutt?" It came from Gavin much louder and angrier. The latter did not even want to look at a particular member of the pirates because it would only cause anger and pain in him.

"Quartermaster Gavin?" Captain Gutt greeted the Dakotaraptor a little irritated. Of course, the others in the group were also irritated by this address. His children also wanted to learn more.

"Quartermaster Gavin?" The old raptor only heard it questioning from his daughter. But that was stubbornly ignored. He just stared into the monkey's eyes.

"Just Gavin now. I have my own family as well, Captain."

"Family? Pathetic fool. You used to be someone and belonged to us!" Gutt spat out the truth as if he not wanted to talk about old stories.

"Wait, what?" The head of the herd couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You guys don't know of his past? Oh Gavin, why? Don't say you're too ashamed to tell them the story of your resignation?" The Raptor gave an annoyed puff out.

"My resignation - not yet. Ashamed - no, I stand by my choice. It was mine, by right and deed. You were killed, long ago. As was Diego's former leader, Soto." Gavin continued because he also knew the leader of this saber tooth pack, but he actually wanted to forget that too. He didn't think it was fair that old love and friendship met him here and now. It was like a nightmare, just more real. But he tried to counter this like countering everything.

"We were at the mountain pass. My sabers were about to get the baby and the mammoth. It was an easy plan. You couldn't even do that and I once saw so much potential in you, Diego." The one in front of him stood protectively in front of his wife, because some of his former pack members looked at her again.

"We are decades beyond those events."

"For us, they happened only moments ago." Soto said and you could really see that they haven't aged. As if it was only yesterday when Diego exchanged this pack for a real family.

"What game are you playing, saber-tooth leader? What magic powers is this illusion?" The captain was pleased that he appeared to be alive after his cruel death. His body, however, didn't feel as alive as usual.

"If it is an illusion, it is one we all share. Is it possible that the past and future are colliding?" Soto didn't know why a monkey just spoke to him, but he also had to deal with this first. Death and then live again, that happened to no one else. At least he never met anyone before who knows of that.

"You all are not really real and here. You can't all be real! If you have all returned, that means.." Now the animal emerged from behind the monkey, which he did not want to look at. He didn't remember the kangaroo that silently. No, he should stop thinking about the past. It's all over. Everything.

"Are you looking for me, Gavin?" Raz looked at the Dakotaraptor as if she wanted to say more. Explain more. It was neither the place nor the time, she thought.

"Raz." The older raptor greeted her as coldly as he could at that moment.

"I'm tha cause of all this. I ran out on ya on tha birth of our eggs. And ever since then, ya've been tormented inside." It sounded like she was sorry, but Gavin wouldn't fall for that trick. He had learned from the past.

"Right now? This is when you choose to do this?" He asked angry and frustrated. But Raz was not stopped from continuing to discuss, even if everyone else was listening to the conversation.

"So take me! Not these guys."

"You have got some flipping nerve!"

"I know! I ripped yer heartstrings right out, mate. For tha last few years of mah disappearance has been burnin 'a hole in yer sanity! Set yerself free from yer doubts!" The flying dino couldn't believe it when she really got on her knees in front of him and came closer to him. Did she no longer have a dignified bone in her body? The Raz he knew would never have done that.

"Go ahead. Do yer worst to me. I deserve it." Hopefully she clung to his leg.

"Let it me go!" With that Gavin pushed her away.

"You think this is about you, Rasmussen?" He inquired even more angrily, mentioning her full name.

"Rasmussen?" Buck was briefly distracted from gazing at his albino dino when that name came up.

"That's Raz, weasel!" Squint announced and life came slowly also in the pirate rabbit.

"Oh, that was so hilarious and so embarrassing." The Dakotaraptor spoke briefly sarcastically before he got serious again.

"And I haven't thought about your hopping hide in twenty years."

"Meanin'?" Raz wanted to know.

"You are a lazy, uncoordinated, sea-swimming pirate. You're not worth the salt in your bread. You are nothing to me! You are nothing! I don't think about you at all. I don't think about your stinking feet. I don't think about your rusty paws. I don't think about your rusty elbows..." The kangaroo started to grin.

"Wait, so ya have or ya haven't thought about me?" But the question wasn't really serious. Annoyed, the dino groaned and gave her a deadly look.

"Newsflash woman, I am over you! I'm over the crew and I am ready to get the quest going for me, my daughter and my son!"

"I'm here." Gertie answered on her cue. Astonishment spread again in the herd.

"Ok, I was scared at first, but now it's getting exciting. Julian, give me some more berries." Eddie said, enthusiastically watching the drama in front of them.

"Shhhh and don't gobble like that! Otherwise we don't understand what else is said." Crash, however, continued to eat noisily the fresh berries that were given by the mammoth.

"Surprise." Roger was rather nervous before going to his father, because behind the bright mammoth, where nobody saw him, he liked it very much.

"Oh yeah, our son and daughter." The oldest raptor announced proudly.

"What?" That was all Raz could think of. The whole Herd, the Brat Pack, Soto's Pack, the Crew, and the Shangri Llama gasped.

"Meu Deus." Buck had to let his saying out again. Scrat looked out from behind Shira's leg and there was a sound that sounded like 'Hmm?' Rudy also looked dumbfounded at them. Cretaceous and Maelstrom looked at each other uninterestedly because they didn't care about such stories.

"That's our mom?!" The Dakotaraptor siblings wanted to know and eyed the kangaroo.

"Raz is their mother?!" These and other questions went through the herd.

"I have a son and a daughter?!" Raz didn't know what to do with the information. Gavin didn't give her time to think.

"Yes, you do! And I raised them all by myself in the Dinosaur World. But now, you have chosen your side poorly and abandoned our family. I'll tell you what you get. You'll get what you flipping deserve along with Gutt and the crew! They took our love away from us and I'm going to get revenge!" I can spit big words too, Gutt thought.

"Then vacate this land and your family. Or I'll soak the ground with the blood of your herd and your children!" The monkey was barely finished with his speech, when he started to fight Gavin and pushed aside all who stood in his way. Fighting always brought him to life. So the captain thought that would work now too and so he loudly ordered his crew to do their part. Gavin on the other claw knew how evil Gutt is and pushed his kids away from him to face this guy alone.  
Of course the others couldn't just watch and so the raptor siblings tried to help their father. This was not easy by the given hustle that arose here on the place.

Gavin makes the first strike by clawing Gutt in the chest. The captain tried to stab the Raptor in return with his bone sword but lucky Gavin avoided it and gets Buck's knife.

"Hey, that's Rudy's tooth!" Buck called over to them.

"Don't worry, I got this!" Returned the dino and stabbed Gutt with the thing. The monkey cried out in pain.

"Reptilian putrid pest!" Despite the bloody hand he got, he pushed the knife to the ground because his opponent held it too loosely in the claws. That meant only one thing, Gavin was away from the combat practice for too long.

"You will suffer!" Like a madman he grabbed the flying lizard on the throat and throws him with all his might against a rock face. Loose stones fell on the gasping dino.

"Dad!" Gertie and Roger shouted almost simultaneously.

"Gavin!" Manny was also worried and still stunned what was happening here. Gutt just laughed at the scene.

"You silly Dakotaraptor! You caused enough trouble for me already. Gavin, it's time to pay the fiddler." The mentioned got out of the rocks and coughted.

Gutt was on the verge of finally finishing the older Raptor and even bit in his shoulder. The victim screamed again out in pain. The monkey just laughed maliciously and the dinosaur's blood dripped to the ground.

"It's all your choice, my dear Gavin. You can either fight Manny and get to Mammal's Crown alive to tell about it. Or you can stay here and die like a nobody. Yes, along with the rest of this what you call herd."

"Never!" Answered the one lying on the floor, still aggressively.

"Fine! You wanted it that way." By this words the sawfish sword was raised.

"Look here, a real hero couldn't even beat me! You're nothing!" The captain threw in the raptor's face.

When Peaches managed to avoid Rudy, so that the dino didn't trample her, she helped Julian, who was wrestling with a saber-toothed tiger. The place was getting sandy in the air, because of that she could no longer see everyone clearly.

"Thank you babe." Julian was also glad that his wife was apparently intact. Nevertheless, neither of them tried to stay calm for long, but tried to help the next one in need. That seemed to be Gavin, who was messing with the pirate captain. The female mammoth took a swing and tried to use her trunk like a whip. Gutt faltered briefly, but did not allow himself to be dissuaded from his goal so quickly.

"I'll come to you later, my pretty one." The pirate promised Peaches with a gruesome undertone. Julian tried to keep a pig off his body.

"Our neighbors were always so nice and now I'm only learning what else can be done with the tusks." The male mammoth whined.

Gertie meanwhile had managed to get rid of the annoying rabbit. Unfortunately, she also lost sight of the molehog. But for the time being she had to help her father and hit Gutt in the face so that he finally let go of her old men and stumbled backwards.

"You little beast!" He let out and he put his hand to his bleeding cheek. He was about to take a swing to teach the female raptor a lesson, but Gavin showed that there was still something in him and rammed his head against the side of the pirate. Gutt finally fell to the ground and Louis, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, added another one with a piece of ice. Roger also tried hard to keep the attacker on the ground.

Manny got a glimpse of this fight scene and got one of those visions again. Everyone fought everyone now, so it must have looked in his dream. But he didn't want to get the same ending. Nobody should be hurt or even die. So he took a deep breath and roared here in the place as loud as he could until he caught everyone's attention.

"I know we all had our differences, but I just had a vision. We were all fighting each other like right now. It only stopped when the blood of all of us covered the earth to clarify who was going against Chronos. Greyson seems to be the one who can dare and do it. That is why we are looking for him." The head of the herd again explained to all newcomers of his vision, Chronos and Grayson. After all, they shouldn't fight each other if there was a much bigger enemy. Or did this Chronos even have something to do with the fact that these animals appeared out of the sand?

"Chronos? Master of time? I wonder how? "After the speech, Soto said something first, but looked thoughtful as if he didn't quite understand it yet.

"Grains of sand summoned us here. Or should I say the Sands of Time." Answered Gupta smartly. Even the badger didn't really get on with the situation here.

"So that's what Diego and Shira were smelling." It came enlightened from Crash.

"Yeah, no thing, bro!" Eddie rolled his eyes at his brother's stupidity. But suddenly a hare pushed forward between the two.

"If this Chronos summoned us here, why isn't he here?" Squint found the question more than justified.

"May I remind you he could be an apparition? A ghost? Boohoooo!" Buck came out of nowhere as usual.

"A ghost? Where?!" The walrus just wanted to get out of here because he didn't like spooky stories.

"There are no ghosts, Flynn." Dobson said with an annoyed puff.

"If Chronos summoned me here, that means... I'M FAR AWAY FROM GEOTOPIA!" The lama only noticed this startling detail now.

"But look on the bright side, you're still young." Teddy told his old friend. Well, at least this guy was something like that.

"Eh, that's a plus one, I guess..." Nevertheless, Shangri Lama did not want to stay here indefinitely and maybe even work for others. He also noticed that he urgently needed a pedicure. Dreadful.

"Anyways, Chronos is our all enemy and he plans to destroy us all! We're all in danger. Do you understand?! So we have to work together to survive." Manfred did his best to keep everyone on the ground. But the exact opposite took place, he made everyone angry again with his speech.

"What? Work with them?! No way, no how!" Squint didn't think about doing what was said.

"You framed me for egg theft! You even tried to kill me and the herd!" Sid said dramatically because he also wanted to participate.

"There is no way am I working with them! Not after what happened." Gavin looked closely at a particular kangaroo with his keen eyes, while Louis and Roger tried to treat his wounds with long leaves and medicinal herbs.

"Dad, I know you don't want to hear this, but we need..them." Gertie said and wasn't quite sure what to think of Raz.

"They will not help us! Those psychos are hellbent on killing many of us as they can!"

"They were once your crew a maybe your friends. Please Dad, listen. There is a good reason for everything. Buck used to be our opponent and look at us now." The son tried to talk to his father.

"He's got a point." The weasel grinned at Gavin with an exaggerated expression.

"Align ourselves with those dinosaur fishies?! Fat chance!" Crash said, crossing his paws.

"And same goes for Rudy too!" Added the other opossum in the same tone.

"Hmph." The llama stuck out his tongue at the sloths and also crossed his hooves. Sid held up a large leaf so that he and his girlfriend were not spat on.

"Please stop the childish behavior and help us. If we don't stop Chronos, we all die. You too, Shangri Lama." Brooke explained as kindly as possible.

"Enough of the silly quarrels. I mean ALL of you! We're going to have to make the best of it for now. So put your differences aside and get your butts to Mammal's Crown. And pronto!" Manny announced loudly and some giggled in the background because if the mammoth saying butt. At least until he exposed these animals to a punishing look again.

"Fine, just fine! But only until this Chronos character is gone!" The pirate captain gave annoyed out.

They also couldn't avoid talking again about this dream of Manny. Soto, Gutt and all other past shadows, this Chronos seemed very well known through the description of Manfred. The mention of an hourglass also brought back memories. Even if none of them could claim to have met these strange creature personally beforehand. Everyone was certain about one thing without saying it. Everything was better than being death.

And Grayson was actually a very well-known animal. So why couldn't any of them remember him except Ethan? Did this Chronos also have something to do with this?

Questions after questions. But they were all sure of one thing, they can only find answers and move forward if they work together. At least for now. It wasn't easy for some of them to stand on the same side with former enemies. Unfortunately, these animals couldn't think of any other solution.

So Manny and Gutt gave a trunk-to-hand shake. Both swore themselves internally that they always observe each other. The same was true for Diego and Soto, who only nodded to each other with a reasonable distance between them.

Shangri Llama just smiled because a truce was suiting him very well. Fighting was not for him at all if there was no one who could to take care of it for him.

So now they weren't just a herd, but something bigger and maybe more important. Something like a fellowship, Scrat thought and wrote the new name with a branch in the dirt. So that everyone could read it.

"What's he trying to do? Make us tiny weapons?" It came almost amused from the pirate rabbit.

"No, Squint. He's trying to spell a new name for our alliance." Shira explained and still couldn't believe that she had to deal with pirates again.

Some pronounced the name 'Fellowship', which was written in the ground in front of them.

"A fellowship?" Said Ethan a little clueless and Louis, who was standing next to him to see something, just shrugged his shoulders. The head of the herd and Gutt took one last look at each other before agreeing to the squirrel's idea.

"What do you think of this, Manny?" Gavin nudged the mammoth lightly on the side. The animal addressed sighed because they actually had no choice.

"Perfect, now that we're on the same side. Let's go now." And he even took Scrat's acorn and the squirrel happily hopped on his head. It quickly became clear that they were all really going together to Mammal's Crown to finally find Grayson.

* * *

**GrayestLobster7:** And so, with our heroes and villains banding together to stop Chronos and emerge victorious, they're on their way to Mammal's Crown, what lies in store for our Fellowship? How did Gavin knew about Soto and his pack, along with Gutt and the Crew? Stay tuned in this sandstorm of a conclusion of _The Battle Against Chronos: The Relic War. _


	2. New friends, new problems

**Questions and answers:**

_How could Raz the kangaroo be Gertie's and Roger's mother?_

In this alternative universe, each species can mate with any other ;)

So don't be afraid to ask questions, everything will always be answered in the next chapter.

* * *

Our group, now named fellowship, hiked in silence through the undergrowth. At least after all wounds and scratches have been treated. Of course you could hear almost every step or sniff like from a certain sloth, but almost everyone was busy with themselves. Surely, because what just happened in front of everyone had to be processed first. Nevertheless, all animals remained vigilant, because even if they were forced to work together, this does not mean that none of their former enemies did not plan to attack again.

Manfred walked ahead of course and didn't really know who to look out for right now. The saber-toothed tigers, the dinosaur fish or Gutt and his crew? The monkey that was to his left with his pirates kept looking at him and grinning strangely, so his eyes went away again.

Ellie, of course, was going next to him, as did his daughter. Julian didn't do this for once, because he strolled further back with Ethan. He thought it was good that he didn't hang on his trunk all the time.

To the right of him, next to Peaches, on whom a tired molehog was sleeping, were the Dakotaraptors. His wife actually suggested she could carry Gavin because of his injuries, but the older Raptor was too proud and probably too stubborn for it. The two children at least tried to be nearby if the father fell over.

The saber-toothed tigers were behind them and he felt somehow sorry for his buddy, because his old pack apparently gaped at the silver-haired tigress as if they hadn't seen one in ages. Now that Manny was thinking about it that might even be true. Nevertheless, everyone should hold back from trying something, because Ellie didn't like it when someone was bothering her best friend. Of course he would help too, but the women were more sensitive to some things.

Shangri Llama blabbered like a waterfall at poor Brooke behind the big cats. The guy really thinks it's all about him. Sid held his girlfriend's paw next to it, of course, but looked like he was going to sleep any moment. Probably because his nap time was due after breakfast.

These fish always flew next to and sometimes over them. The oldest mammoth tried to ignore this generously, because so far they have not been very aggressive.

The rest of the younger mammoths ran behind and the girls giggled about something.

Rudy apparently made the end of their group on which Buck and the possums were sitting on of course.

Somehow he couldn't see Teddy and Gladys, but they are showing up again. Maybe they are sitting on the back of the albino dino and smooching or something similar. They do that all the time when they are bored. So he thought it better not to look for them.

His saber-tooth buddy cleared his throat, so his attention went to this one.

"You really had us all fooled. We didn't know you were also in Gutt's crew." Diego said this about the Raptor father, which everyone thought somehow.

"I'm glad you are out of that group." Manny also found that Gavin wasn't doing too badly in their men's group. New buddy also meant new topics of conversation.

"Technically, Gertie, Roger and I first found this truth out." Louis said after a yawn, because he shouldn't be sleeping on Peaches's back all the way. Also because his girlfriend gave him sharp looks now and then. He tried to ignore it for the time being, which was really difficult.

"Okay, okay. You got me there. Raz and me did meet in the crew and we were madly in love when we first met. She is now just my ex-fiancée." Gavin explained half annoyed, half irritated because everyone wanted to know.

"Fiancée?" The question came from some animals in the group.

"Of course." The oldest raptor confirmed it again, although unwanted. Actually, he had no great desire to chat about the subject in front of everyone. He just didn't like showing weakness. Not now that they had their enemies on their legs and had a more important job.

"It's true. The only ones, who knew about it, were Flynn and Shira." The pirate kangaroo gave the tigress a poisonous look before she spoke further, because they both quarreled about it in the past.

"They kept it a secret fer me. So everythin 'was real sweet, until I made that stupid choice because of Gutt long ago. The Crew or Gavin's ... well it could have been ma family. But I chose Gutt and the crew, naturally, abandoning the eggs ... and him." As Raz spoke, she moved closer until she went between Ellie and Peaches. Just so she didn't have to get louder and that the right dino understood her. During the drama, some of the animals here gasped again.

"Why would you do that?!" Peaches couldn't understand how to choose against love and against the family. She would do anything for Julian and the others.

"I had no choice. Gutt made me do it." It sounded as if the kangaroo was sorry.

"I didn't know anything about true love until now." The pirate captain, on the other hand, didn't care when he was pushing next to Ellie.

"Thanks a lot, Captain Dunderhead!" Raz complained to the monkey.

"I didn't know." And this pretended to feel bad for it.

"Raz is right. That must be one of the worst things you ever made one of your crew mates do, Gutt." Said Julian, who also pushed himself forward and Manny refused to explain to him what pirates are doing all day long.

"I know it looks bad, even for me." The captain made a sympathetic face.

"The point of the matter is, the past is now the past. And you know what we realize?" Ellie now had to get involved.

"What?" Gavin said, a little annoyed because he didn't really like the whole situation.

"Whether you and Shira are pirates or not, you're also still family to us." The saber-toothed tiger gave the mammoth mother a thankful smile when Ellie looked back to her. The older Dakotaraptor and Shira also nodded briefly at each other.

"Yeah, no reason to be mad at you two." The molehog announced, because he tried to get along with Gavin. He should also support his father-in-law. Was he thinking father-in-law? Ok, Louis, we're thinking of other things now, the spiky one commanded himself and his cheeks felt warm. He just hoped no one could see it.

"Now with that out of the way, we're nearing Mammal's Crown." Buck called down from the head of the white dinosaur. When everyone noticed that they were walking to a slope, they stopped. The fellowship finally got a clear view of the whole landscape. Of course, they were all amazed of the beautiful sight.

"We are not in our valley anymore." Ethan announced and would not have thought that it would be really worth it to walk around. He was sure the girls would find this place romantic or something similar. But he also started dreaming easily but before he didn't really think of anything great by Grayson's description.

Roger whistled at the picturesque sight. Well, what he managed to do with his beak. His sister rolled her eyes and showed him how it worked again, with pressing the tongue against the beak and blow air through it.

"So now you can do that again." Ordered Gertie her brother and he whistled again, only this time you heard it properly.

"The water looks so clear." Katie mixed in between the siblings and Roger immediately smiled a little at her from the side. The female raptor looked back and forth between the two before saying anything, but someone nudged her leg. She looked down and found the molehog shaking his head. All right, Gertie thought, but she will definitely annoy the two later.

"And shiny." Meghan added to Katie's sentence and also marveled at the nearby water.

"No wonder Sid and Brooke came here for vacation last year. This is really great." Diego thought about proposing to his wife later that they both treat themselves to a break here. So when they have everything behind them and his old pack has disappeared again, because he didn't trust this peace here a bit, because he knew Soto too well for that.

"Okay, enough sightseeing. Let's find Grayson now and get some answers." Manfred announced aloud when he was fed up with the sight. Besides, he didn't want to wait until his lady next to him thought of spending the second honeymoon here. The place literally sparkled with romance, if you overlooked it.

* * *

After everyone had commented on the prospect, the head of the herd finally managed to move everyone down the hill. Of course, it wasn't long before they passed other animals.

Now Sid was finally wide awake and, like his friends, heard several teenagers nearby.

"At the local pebble ball tournament, my team is getting the lowest score. We're so dead." Sighed a male aardvark. A shovelmouth next to it also wanted to say something, but then saw Rudy.

"I must be dreaming!"

"Preposterous!" It came from an annoyed start.

"And at my local dining establishment, I do know this however, some of Chronos generals are terrorizing the locals and taking our food for themselves." Throws a young sloth angrily around him.

"If Chronos comes back, we're doomed! We're doomed!" A female saber-toothed tiger seemed desperate as our friends wandered further through this place. A mammoth next to it shook its head.

"Get a hold of yourself!" The bigger one tried to keep her friend on the ground and bonks her playfully on the head with her trunk so that the other realized what she has done.

"Oh, sorry." The tigress immediately apologized for overreacting.

"Thanks, I needed that." The saber tooth also thanked her girlfriend and leaned a little against the mammoth.

"You're ... welcome?" Gave the bigger one a little embarrassed out.

But suddenly the Fellowship heard loud noises nearby, which made them all march there, because maybe someone was attacked again. The noise came from a stage and apparently our friends weren't the only ones who wanted to go to this place, because many literally crowded here. The saber-toothed tigers and some of the others, like Rudy, thought it best to stay further away. Also because Buck did not want the big dinosaur under him to eat up a creatures in panic. Even if his striped colleagues would find some action cool here, the weasel couldn't lose control. It just happened too often in his past.

"Maybe this is about music." You heard Brooke say when Peaches put her and Sid on her back so they could see something too. The female sloth would really like something like a concert, because the day didn't start so well. At least she was happy that they came back here and this place with all of her friends. She also waved to some animals that remembered her from her last visit. Some other tried also now to climb the peach-colored mammoth.

"Hey, not that many!" But apparently some animals didn't mind that they were sitting on Peaches faces.

"We will be nice." Julian warned an energetic marten and took it from his wife's eyes. Then he put it on his head.

"So now you see better. I'm much taller." He said and Peaches gave him a brief thankful smile.  
The crowds and volume finally dropped when you saw someone climb on the podium.

"Friends! Fellow mammals! Enemies. And enemies who pretended to be friends." Dramatic music started playing in the background and that alone made Brooke smile even more.

"Prepare to see your worries ... drift away." The guy in front, who seemed to be a raccoon and everyone but the Fellowship was cheering loud.

"Marry me!" Roared a rabbit next to Ellie and now she knew why her husband stopped further back. This is more for the younger generation. Before, she also thought more of a gathering rather than a concert by a music star. But now she couldn't turn around and push back through all the animals.

"Have my children!" Called a molehog girl at Sid's feet and he looked at his girlfriend, who also watched the man on front of all them enthusiastic. He would definitely keep an eye on this ring-tailed guy.

"I love you, Grayson!" A Procoptodon said excitedly next to Gertie, who then added up one and one quickly and wanted to pass on the new information. At least she tried shouting. But then she stopped and thought that could wait until the volume was normal again here.

"And I love you, random mammal! I know rumors have been flying around..." Mammals around our friends made astonished to shocked sounds.

"..but the truth is never as bad as it seems to be. I have just returned from the Labyrinth of Knowledge, where every memory, so even whole events that happened in the world... are recorded in these leaf scrolls." The raccoon took a dramatic pause.

"Hit it, boys!" He said cool with three animals playing upbeat jazz music.

_Listen, party poopers, I've got something to say_  
_Dry your weeping eyes, we're gonna be okay._  
_So you don't have to worry about a dog gone thing_  
_The Labyrinth of Knowledge know everything_  
_The leaf scrolls never lie and, honey, neither does Grayson_  
_It's right here in my paws, all six of them rolled into one_  
_So tuck your little fears and put them right into bed_  
_It says right here that the Fellowship has arrived_  
_And sitting in the audience over there_

The audience gasped watched what the prancing raccoon showed, who now turned out to be Grayson for everyone. The Herd, the Crew, the Brat Pack, the saber pack, Scrat, the Dino Birds and the Shangri Llama. Yes, they were all admired and cheered on as if they were now the focus of this show. Grayson gave them a quick nod and continued to sing his song, which he also composed.

_Everyone included but not limited to, ha!_  
_Manny, Sid, Diego too,_  
_Cannot forget about Crash and Eddie,_  
_Heck even Ellie too,_  
_Then of course there's the one-eyed buck,_  
_and sweet, sweet peaches,_  
_Next up is the molehog Louis,_  
_Then the sassy Gladys,_  
_After her it's the one and only Shira,_  
_After her Ethan and the Brat Pack_

"Then comes Julian." A male rabbit came from the background choir.

"And then comes Teddy." Sang a male mammoth with a deep voice, but the named rabbit thought it was really nice.

"Oh and I love Brookey Brooke." A male saber tooth mixed in harmoniously. The audience just buzzed with the melody.

"Oh and I love Brookey Brooke." A male saber tooth mixed in harmoniously. The audience just buzzed with the melody. Others just screamed entausitically.

"Then the Dino Birds, Gavin, Gertie, and Roger." The song continued on the stage. This was then followed by an instrumental pause in the song and the raccoon on the pedestal raised his voice alone.

"And, who are they? Oh my, who are they?! Some of you may have guessed or realized correct, some of you might be wrong, that's fine if you don't know and these villain's need no musical introduction. There are the Saber Pack, Cretaceous, Maelstrom, Rudy, the Crew and Shangri... LLLLLLLLAMA!"  
Further back at the edge of the crowd, the events of the day were becoming increasingly nonsensical for some.

"But he sang it anyway." Whispered Manny, who was rather annoyed by the vocals, to Gavin, who was also standing here.

"A singing racoon? If he goes on like this he's more a sinkcoon." The mammoth thought it was funny and gave a little giggle.

"He painted the stripes on himself so that he doesn't miss his singing assignments." The raptor held a claw to his beak.

"I have pain. Stop making me laugh!" But the complaint came out of the dino more laughingly.

"Can't you two drop this?" Diego inquired, who didn't feel like doing all the kid stuff. It was about serious things beforehand and they now stood here listening to this Grayson singing.

"Is this, what being honored heroes feel like these days?" Squint elbowed Gupta to ask that.

"Forget about it, he's on a roll." The badger shrugged. It was deafening in the front as Grayson sang again. Much to the suffering of some of the group.

_As I said before_  
_Dry your weeping eyes,_  
_we're gonna be okay_  
_So you don't have to worry about a dog gone thing_  
_The Labyrinth of Knowledge know everything_  
_The leaf scrolls never lie and, honey, neither does Grayson_  
_It's right here in my paws, all six of them rolled into one_  
_So tuck your little fears and put them right into be_

_So tuck your little fears and put them right into be_

"Big finish!" The mammoth said in a deep voice.

Grayson: So tuck  
Audience: Hey!  
Grayson: Your fears  
Audience: Hey!  
Grayson: And put  
Audience: Hey!  
Grayson: Them  
Audience: Hey!  
Grayson: To sleep!

* * *

After the popular singer bowed far too often here and briefly passed his paw to the fans while everyone applauded and screamed again. When it finally came to an end, Grayson suddenly had a wooden pipe with him and actually used the thing to shoot the crowd. Nobody took cover as if it were completely normal. The little prickly one climbed on Gertie and this threw him up in the air. So Louis could catch the thing they were shot at and he landed safely again, the claws of the female raptor. Now that he thought about it, they haven't even practiced such actions much. This showed that they work well together as a team.  
The others in her group came closer as the crowds eased because of the other animals. Manny still couldn't understand the enthusiasm for the singer. Probably the others next to him neither.

"Are you all okay? The thing the guy had in his paws looked dangerous." Diego found it a little irresponsible to shoot into the crowd.

"Stay calm, my saber-toothed friend. That was just a little bazooka." Buck explained to the big cat because he didn't think it was dangerous.

"You once shot cactus spikes at me with something like that!" Complained the old Dakotaraptor to the weasel, who of course jumped on it.

"Oh Gavin, the good old days weren't always the worst." The Dino just pushed the other down again.

"So what I have here is not dangerous. Anyway, I think this." The second sentence was added more quietly by Louis and he showed the rolled leaf so that everyone could see what it was supposed to be. However, his girlfriend wanted to know why it was curled up. So he rolled up the thing, which turned out to be a message.

"Meet me at my cave home in ten minutes." Read the molehog out loud so that everyone understands it.

"Ten minutes? Huh, I wonder why?" Sid wanted to know and found it a little shame that the vocal performance was already over.

"Maybe he has answers for us." Peaches said and was a little relieved that they didn't have to look far to find the raccoon. Her father certainly thought so too.

"He did say he came back from Labyrinth or Knowledge. And a labyrinth can be huge." Julian remembered the last time he got lost in a labyrinth. He actually didn't feel like to do it again. At least he wasn't alone this time.

"Yeah." It came from Scrat, which made everyone in the group look at the little guy in surprise.

"Um ... what?" Added the squirrel, because with so many eyes made him uncomfortable.

"Scrat, did you just speak?" Ethan asked carefully, maybe he had misunderstood. So he and the dozen other animals around him.

"Yes. Why?" Scrat asked nervously.

"What about you, my big white buddy? Is there anything you want to chat about?" Buck shuffled up the big dino again. This actually sighed.

"Maybe." Rudy said almost overused.

"And what about the air fish?" Crash looked over at the two.

"Of course."

"D'uh, yeah." Cretaceous and Maelstrom replied as if it were a matter of course.

"Well, take me away and call me dinner. They can actually speak now." Sid started a little freaking out about it.

"Honey, they could express themselves well beforehand. Only now we understand them even better, since they do it with words." Brooke explained to her sloth and took the squirrel in her arms.

"Yup, that's right." Of course, Scrat snuggled up to his angel again and behind Brooke, the saber-toothed squirrel and the male sloth had a stare down duel again.

"Hallelujah!" Announced Ellie to raise the spirits, but wasn't sure yet if she liked the big fish. The two always gave her strange looks.

"Amazing!" It came from Steffie rather sarcastically, but it went under because Katie and Roger were so happy about it and jumped around. At least until the Raptor stumbled again and also brought down the bright mammoth this time. The larger one did not try to land on the dino and unintentionally pulled him on her belly. Roger immediately got up, embarrassed and moved away from her. He looked everywhere, just not in her face.

"Sorry. Again."

"It's fine, really." Katie took the whole thing more relaxed, because Buddy ended up on her too in the past and he was much heavier.  
Eddie grinned at his brother and then started to sing.

"Roger and Katie sitting in a tree." Crash couldn't miss it and joined in.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Even Squint took part, because he liked that he could peeve someone again. The bright mammoth sighed annoyed because she didn't think she would be confronted with such childish fuss again. She glanced at the Dakotaraptor, who seemed embarrassed. With her trunk she made sure that the dino had to look elsewhere.

"Don't pay attention to these idiots, we're not teenagers anymore." Then she let go of Roger and walked over to Meghan, who was staring at something else. The remaining Raptor got a very warm head from the touch, but then realized that the rabbit and the possums were still making fun of him.

"Um ... she's right. We only get to know each other better, because otherwise not yet .." The dino noticed that his talk didn't make it better.

"Louis, where's Grayson's cave?" So he distracted himself from this problem.

"He didn't write it down here." Answered the spiky one.

"I know that sounds really far-fetched, but maybe it's the only cave that you can see from here." Silas said bored because he didn't like the number with the collaboration so much. When he has to deal with stupid landlubbers, he usually chooses them himself.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We're paying ourselves a visit to a raccoon." Manny announced so that everyone would start moving again. The younger and more energetic of their group ran like there was no tomorrow. The oldest mammoth also thought that they shouldn't waste time, but they didn't have to run over him.

* * *

When the whole fellowship finally got to Grayson's Cave, Manfred pushed himself forward to knock when he saw that the monkey pirate wanted to do this. He just didn't trust Gutt.

"Uh ... hello." The mammoth knocked its trunk a few times against a rock face.

"Hey, sure took your sweet time, guys. I've been waiting for ten minutes, are you coming in or what?" This Grayson called from inside and everyone walked in.

"Well, we're here for answers." Said Gutt, looking around. He could also like such a cave. He wouldn't even have to do much for that. Except bringing the owner under the daisies.

"Okay, can someone pass me the mint ivy?"

"What does he think who we are, his shower buddies?" Diego whispered to Manny.

"Nobody, ok I can do it on my own." Then you heard something like 'outrageous' behind a stone wall and the raccoon washed on in silence. As if the rest of the animals didn't find it uncomfortable to listen to the guy washing. At some point the embarrassing silence and rippling of water also came to an end.

"I gotta tell you guys about Chronos. This time keeper is not an ordinary time keeper. He's a threat to animal kind. Not only does he have those robes you guys saw, but this guy surrounds himself in impenetrable golden armor. No weapon can ever hurt this deity." Grayson explained after placing himself in the middle of the visitors, taking out a glowing ball and rolling it to the ground. The bright thing started to smoke and the smoke actually formed a figure in the air. It was Chronos who rose from the smoke and swung his staff over them all, but nothing happened to them.

"Wow, now that's what I call third dimension." Julian was thrilled with the show.

"We aren't done yet. He also has his generals." Grayson said this because there was so much more to know. The smoke decayed and this time formed several figures. A magnificent eagle, a well-trained jaguar, a dangerous looking snake and a strong gorilla. They all wore black and white robes like this Chronos and golden armor, as this raccoon called it.

"An eagle? As if we weren't enough with weird birds already… "Manny looked at the oldest Dakoraptor, but apparently he didn't find it funny.

"Sorry."

"First these male saber-toothed tigers and now also a jaguar?" It came from Shira questioningly and her husband gave her a certain look from the side, what she immediately noticed.

"It wasn't meant that way, Diego." The Saber tooth calmed down on the sentence.

"Besides, we don't have time for something like that now." And then she gave him another blow in the stomach. When he looked into her eyes, she only winked to let him know that it was just a joke.

"These animals don't worry me. But why such a big snake-like snake?" Sid worried about this thing much more, because he had seen from afar how a small specimen had eaten a mouse. And then he didn't want to think about what such a big one could eat.

"Shall we tell him that all snakes are snake-like?" Peaches quietly inquired of her mother in the background.

"Better not." She answered and tried to process these smoking things first.

"That is one big ape." Commented Raz and the pirate captain pushed her to the side.

"That only looks like that. He's never bigger than me." Because Gutt never saw a monkey towering over him.

"These are Chronos' generals. Chronos' army are a bit metallic and deadly." Grayson tried again to get more attention from everyone and therefore continued to speak a little louder. The smoke also changes to these explanations. Several shiny creatures formed with a red eye and sharp claws in the air. One of them was quite large and probably led the others.

"Their commander, name is Tinormous, is the leader of the little robots called Tinker Toys. It is like a combination of tin and ginormous and also the guardian of the hourglass, the only thing that can control time." Although our herd didn't really understand much about what the raccoon was chattering with a lot of foreign words, they at least tried to keep that most important. Besides, nobody wanted to be bare when idiot stood there. This smoke turned into the so-called hourglass.

"Aww man, that's the same one we saw earlier today." Roger recognized the part.

"I'm glad you guys remembered." Said the raccoon and sounded a little arrogant.

"Wait. I have one of those, but ... miniature." Gutt took the thing out of wherever it was hidden. Probably from his hat.

"A necklace?" Squint was rather unimpressed.

"This is no mere necklace, my trusty first mate. This is a pendant, that has the abilities to control time itself, as well as the hourglass." The captain was proud of the thing, while his crew wondered why they had never seen it before.

"The real deal can only be found in Chronos' Keep." Everyone looked back at Grayson and the smoke, which was transformed into what Chronos had shown them before.

"A keep? That's what it's called?" Manny wanted to get as much information as possible.

"Yes, a keep. A hideout, a solitary fortress, a.." But the raccoon was interrupted.

"If Chronos is after us, how can we stop him?" That interested Roger much more.

"The only relics to defeat those villains are these." The smoke also fell to the ground and this time rose to eight parts, which Grayson explained as if he had memorized that. It showed a lightning bolt, a golden trident, a crystal ember, a red rose, a sun orb, a mighty two handed sword, a spear and shield and a lucky coin with winged boots.

"Everything shines beautifully, but what's so special about them?" The head of the herd couldn't do anything with it except that one of them looked like a meteorite.

"They, my friend, are..." There was a dramatic pause.

"Greek god relics." Grayson announced with raised paws as if everyone should be glad to hear it. Silence followed and some coughed in the background.

"Hm, maybe I didn't say it right. Where's my booster?" Grayson was about to turn away, but the oldest mammoth held him with the trunk on the shoulder.

"Forget that. So these things have any helpful powers?"

"Oh yes." The raccoon replied and the taller one hoped he didn't have to pull everything out of the guy's nose.

"Cool." Crash wanted to reach for something like that, but fell through the smoke into the void. His brother laughed shortly afterwards before turning to the owner of the cave.

"You're not telling us fairy tales here, are you?" Eddie thought such stories were great, but he also wants to see evidence.

"I would never do that. Now remember, without those relics, Chronos is invincible and without a Fellowship, our world is doomed." Grayson said this as if he were saying wise words.

"Thanks Grayson, we get it." Diego didn't quite know what to think of this guy.

"So, I am coming along with you guys." It was announced as if the others couldn't do it without Grayson.

"You look like a fun guy, mister Ringtail. You come with us or you might die without our help." Ellie added, because until now she found the new one in the group acceptable.

"Please, Mister Ringtail was my father." The raccoon winked at her.

"Well, you guys too and it is my job to help everyone in need! And I cannot ask you to risk your lives alone to clean up Chronos' clock! No flips or dips on this one, sir. I am coming along with you and that's final!" Heroically he climbed onto a small boulder in order to appear larger when he spoke. Manny didn't add anything to it at first and just sighed. Then he tried to snap his trunk as his daughter had shown him. And lo and behold, it worked and after the sound he pointed to the exit of the cave to instruct everyone that they should all go on.

"Thanks, guys. Let's get going." Grayson was happy to go ahead and it didn't take him long to prepare for the trip.

* * *

In front of the cave our fellowship was expecting the next surprise. The jaguar, which was previously only visible in the harmless smoke, suddenly appeared very lively here in front of them, roaring loudly. Probably so that everyone could catch him. The sunlight shimmered beautifully in the golden armor and on the shiny black fur. Shira and Gutt both noticed that they were staring too much and looked elsewhere.

"A strange team indeed."

"You're the one Grayson talked about!" Teddy recognized and stood protectively in front of his loved one.

"Huh, look who's talking! I'm a mammoth, and the name is Ethan! "Steffie tried to protect this mammoth too, even if the jaguar frightened him. But he didn't show any of it outwardly.

"Hm. Choosing the mammoth was your first mistake, mammal. "The stranger spoke condescendingly, with Ethan. The mammoth got ready, at these words.

"You know, you talk too much for a jaguar. Teddy and Grayson, please feel free to help me!" Ethan was determined to fight. The general suddenly pulled out crescent blades.

"Watch out, he has weapons!" Teddy warned the red-brown mammoth.

"What kind of jaguar carries crescent weapons?" Diego wanted to know confused.  
"Good question!" Added the turquoise rabbit.

There was no time left to think, because Gato literally jumped in their faces to show that more should be fought here than chatting. Three against one seemed nasty, but the jaguar was strong and dangerous. The others from the herd wanted to help, but for some insensitive reason they could only watch rigidly. Ethan was attacked first and his girlfriend was afraid for him in the background. Katie and Meghan also didn't find this fight fair with these powers or whatever was going on here. However, Teddy helped the mammoth to ward off the attack well.

"Coming through, guys!" The raccoon called in and took out a bo staff created with conch shell. It was hard to believe, but he even hit the Jaguar on the chin with this weapon several times and hurled the enemy into the air with the uppercut. But Gato did not allow himself to rest and landed on his paws again. The next time he attacked, he threw small pointed things at our three fighters, which Grayson called daggers. He also said that you should avoid them, but Teddy and Ethan thought almost at the same time that this would explain itself.

"Ha, you missed me!" The raccoon threw at their opponent while doing splits in the air.

"Not the hair!" Ethan scolded when he jumped to the side just in time, but hair strands sailed still to the ground.

"Yikes!" The turquoise rabbit didn't even have to jump around a lot because he was articulated and just went back with his body. Yoga is worth it, he thought when he could bend back so far that his head was only one paw away from the floor and these daggers flew over him. They almost hit one of the others, but Grayson could avert it in time.

"Hey! Be careful!" Sid didn't want to get hurt if he didn't cause it himself. That would definitely hurt twice as much. The jaguar only roared towards the sloth, because he hated annoying distractions while fighting.

"I'm..shutting up." Then it came quieter from Sid. Gato then tried his powerful jump again on the other three.

"My turn!" And Teddy jumped also into the air to hit the jaguar at the suspected weak point. All cats had this. The general cried out in pain and got really angry.

"You three fight nastier than a dumb rhino!"

"Say what you want! You're still not gonna win, lame brain!" Ethan replied with insults.

"Your childish words may offend me, but it won't work!" And the jaguar leapt up again to carry out his attack. The three were able to fend it off again.

"Ethan! Finish him!" Teddy suggested.

"Now! All of the world is depending on us!" Added Grayson, as if that wasn't stressful at the moment.

"Right. This is going to get rough!" Ethan tried to stay cool and often hit the jaguar with his trunk. The final blow to the animal's chest brought the general to the ground.

"Night night, sleep tight." The red-brown mammoth felt a little strange after the matter, but that was also his first fight. But the enemy didn't give up that easily, so he jumped back on his paws and shouted at them.

"Arrgh! You wounded me!"

"Aww, what happened, Mister Kitty Cat Meow Face doesn't like losing to us?" Ethan suddenly felt so superior. Must have been the intoxication that came with the fight.

"We'll meet again, mammoth vermin..." Said this General and ran away.

"So that was that Gato?" Shira asked, approaching Grayson when suddenly everything seemed normal again around them.

In the background, Steffie and Scrat pounced on Ethan because they were happy that everything was going well. They thought the red-brown mammoth could get seriously injured because they had never watched him fight before. Katie and Meghan then had to pull their friend away from Ethan and calm them down, otherwise she whines around longer.

"Yes, now you have met General Gato. Chronos' second general and his trusted advisor." Grayson explained again. Probably for some who didn't understand it the first time or he just liked to do it. Nobody questioned the reason.

"Way to hustle, Ethan. Something tells me we haven't seen the last of that angry jaguar." Manny also had to praise the younger mammoth a little, he finally deserved it.

"Something? The guy just said himself that we'll see him again." It came from Gavin and he gave the oldest mammoth a weird look.

"Ok, I admit it, I didn't understand that when the guy gasped for air. I'm sorry I don't have every dialect on me." Manfred returned a little grim, but he just didn't want to admit that his ears got worse with age.

* * *

When everyone recovered from the fight, the fellowship finally decided to move on to leave Grayson's cave behind. Julian was kind enough to carry Scrat's acorn around and the owner sat happily on his head. Everyone in the group was either deep in thought and had someone or more to talk to. Ellie found it positive that her group grew, even if some of them had strange conversation topics. She tried to ignore Soto and his gang. Just like the pirates. So far none of them had tried anything bad and that was a good sign.

"Hey guys." Some animals looked around for the voice. A teenage weasel sat by the side, eating a cockroach on a stick.

"'Sup? You guys goin 'on a quest?" The little guy wanted to know.

"Something like that." Replied Diego, who found the child kind of cute. He would like to think about his own children again, but not with his old pack behind him.

"Ah, okay." The young weasel uttered and thought about something before his eyes widened. He looked at the raccoon.

"That sounds like a quest. Y'all goin 'on a quest!"

"Yes, we are, my kid." Buck also roped off Rudy when he saw the young animal from above.

"That's definitely a quest! Wait up!" The teenager went on and pulled out a wooden flute. Sid already took cover because he thought he would be shot again. Brooke patted his back and whispered that nothing like that would happen. A child will definitely not attack them.

"So I'm Ellie and you are?" Asked the mammoth mother about the name of the child, because you should do that first when you have a conversation.

"Howdy, ma'am. Albert, bard." He introduced himself politely and then the young weasel patted Sid on the shoulder. Probably because he saw it before as the female sloth did.

"And I am eager to join you."

"Wait, hang on.." Manny was going to raise objections because he will definitely not take children with him.

"Ah ah ah, don't say no! I'll just follow y'all like a shadow. Oh, this is gonna be so awesome, man! You know, since we're heading north, why don't we start gathering more new members to this group?" From friendly to rude, the young weasel simply cut off the herd guide. The mammoth took an angry breath to fiddle with this youngster.

"But.."

"The more the merrier." Grayson was the next one not to let him speak.

"Yeah." Oh, yes, the squirrel could talk now, Manfred remembered less cheerfully.

"Always stay calm, darling. It'll be nice." His wife now said as if they were all going to a party. There was a fight just before their eyes and all act now as if there was no danger around.

"Sweet, man! I know just where to go, I'll sing a catchy song while we are going there." Albert was happy and started to sing.

"Welcome to the Fellowship, Albert." Manny gritted out between his teeth and wondered if the new addition had no parents who could forbid this.

* * *

Sometime later, our fellowship gradually arrived at the edge of Mammal's Crown. Manny still could not believe that nobody did anything about taking a child with them. And what about Grayson? Was the guy their leader now? These and other questions went through the head of the oldest mammoth, who was only concerned about the safety of the herd. After all, he couldn't take care of everyone when they got more.

"They're on a quest Albert and the Fellowship. The biggest heroes of Mammal's Crown Woo-hoo! We're gonna rock - Ow!" The younger weasel happily sang its tones and sipped from a coconut between it.

"And then all the girls will say' Albert, you're SEXY!" It sounded almost dreamy and Manny had to give something out, even if his lady gave him some looks again. He didn't care now.

"Listen, musical weasel! We just witnessed a giant hourglass, an evil time god and now an armored jaguar! Not only that, but we also got our enemies from the past and a strangely raccoon in our troop. We really need to find these relics now, even though we haven't got a squirrel's butt chance of getting them! No offense, Scrat." Manfred really got going, but apologized briefly to the squirrel.

"No, I'm with you." Scrat assured him that he took it easy.

"OK. Where was I? Oh yes, Albert can you please shut up with your odes and give us a chance to think?!" But apparently the words of the mammoth did not appeal.

"Hey, I can strum up a little hero tune instead!" The teenager suggested as if he hadn't already sung enough.

"Oh geez, not again!" Whined Manny and hoped that his head would pop off and then at least he would no longer have to endure it.

"Honey, you should give the boy a chance and take it easier." Ellie interfered in the whole thing before her husband freaked out.

"And Grayson beats some enemies and hits them with all his strength. His staff that bashed into Hades' skull and cracked along his length." Sang the weasel happily on.

"Wait a minute!" Manfred stopped the screamer, who wasn't called Sid for a change.

"What?" Albert looked up in surprise.

"The song you just played there. So we refrain from saying that you shouldn't warble about killing someone, but what's the name of it?" Asked the mammoth.

"The Ballad of Grayson." The teenager replied, looking at him as if it were the stupidest question in the world.

"Ah yes, my own trademarked song." Grayson said for himself because he thought the song was brilliant.

"You know, it's everyone's favorite song in Mammal's Crown." He whispered to Raz and Peaches because they happened to be standing next to him.

"Oh ok. That sounds great." The mammoth also played a smile, because the kangaroo didn't look like it was doing something nice. Peaches did this because she didn't want to annoy their guide, because without him they couldn't get any further.

"Yeah, it has two thousand and seventy three verses. I remembered it all by heart. Seriously, guys. Grayson gets all the ladies and soon enough, one of them would come to him." Albert seemed to be a real fan, while the rest of the herd silently wondered why the song had so many verses.

"Why don't you tell us about it, pal? So without singing." Ethan approached the young weasel with a serious expression.

"Hey, settle down, mister or I'll show you who's boss around here." Grayson intervened, giving Ethan a couple of head-butts. When the raccoon turned to the boy, the mammoth girls and Buddy had to make sure that Ethan didn't start to fight back.

"What? That he gets all the chicks?" Albert asked irritated.

"No, about the lyrics!" Manny groaned in annoyance, but put his trunk briefly on the red-brown mammoth's back to keep this calm.

"The part with Hades again, please." Asked the leader of the herd.

"That last verse was about him!" Ethan explained the boy even more clearly.

"Was that it?" Albert said a little sheepishly. Probably because the mammoths looked so angry.

"Yes. Get out all the verses about where Hades would be and what his relic is?" It just took Ethan too long.

"Uh..."

"Quick, get to the end." Manfred taps the flute for this movement.

"Umm...And once Grayson bashed Hades' skull It gushed out night and day.." But Albert was interrupted again by the brat pack leader, who shook his head.

"No no no no! After Hades was defeated or dead. Come on, sing it!" He asked, ignoring Katie in the background, who whispered that the boy didn't have to sing it.

"Uhh...He retreated with his ember in a place beyond recall The Underworld of Olympus is bound to make the call.."

"The Underworld of Olympus! That's it!" Manny announced the goal of their next hike.

"What?" Albert didn't really understand what was going on here and Grayson suggested that he continue to sing his great song as a pastime.

"Am I speaking indistinctly? We go to the Underworld of Olympus and find the ember now!" The old mammoth actually found the idea completely crazy, but he could do it if everyone else didn't follow the rules. Enemies made of sand and smelling of it somehow, a self-confident raccoon that appears to have become their new leader and they just take everyone in the group, no matter how dangerous or stupid it could get. Some of the others looked at Manfred a little strange, but he didn't comment on that.

"Leave our home behind and go out on the seas again?" Shira didn't really feel like that. Deep water and swimming was still not her thing.

"First, how do you know we have to get on the water?" The mammoth mother wanted to know from her friend.

"If there was an entrance to the underworld somewhere here, you would have heard about it or not?"

"Well yes, you're right." Ellie turned back to her husband, who is probably starting to go crazy.

"Secondly, it's very dangerous out there and the reason we can't leave is... Oh, how do I put this? Oh, I know, because it's suicide!"

"Yeah, it's very dangerous out there!" Spuint tried hard not to grin at the idea that something might happen to some of their new 'friends' out there. The captain would find something like that surely terrible. Terribly beautiful.

"We can't leave now!" Flynn was just starting to find it nice here.

"There's titans, hydras, giant bugs and human gods out there! You can find really terrible deaths there." The pirate rabbit babbled on.

"Exactly! The Greek gods Grayson told us about! If we find all the relics, we can get rid of Chronos and his generals for good." Manny was almost looking forward to the trip.

"Really?" Sid blinked, because he was taking a short nap on Julian's back. Then he was grabbed by his big buddy by the paw and whirled around.

"Then we will save the world!" Manny almost danced around with the sloth while his family wondered if he had stepped on any strange plant. Except Julian, who of course participated.

"Yes! This is gonna be a kick butt quest, man!" Albert also showed his own dance moves and it didn't seem to bother the little one that two mammoths almost crush him if he is not careful.

"Okay, let's keep moving, before anymore trouble stirs up." The oldest mammoth quickly came out of breath and Sid made his puke face again. So he let him down quickly. Even if there was still a lot of confusion, our fellowship continued to go on.

* * *

They were trying to talk more now. Mainly with Albert, so that he didn't continue to sing. Much to the grief of Grayson, who loved listening to his songs, but none of the others wanted to join in. They all music philistines, he thought, trying to bear it.

Ellie, meanwhile, had managed to calm her husband down and was now pondering what to do when they got back to the water. Unintentionally, she suddenly stepped on something soft. She hurriedly raised her foot again, thinking she was stepping on someone from her little friends. When her eyes realized what was under her, she started screaming. A dead molehog was in front of our group.

"What happened here?" Louis asked from a safe distance because he and Gertie had been flying over everything before. If they did, Gavin didn't seem to be watching them so closely. Probably also because the older Raptor was unable to fly due to the injuries.

"Run for your lives.." Suddenly a bloodstained rabbit was crawling towards them. The poor soul didn't seem to be able to do any more, and then you couldn't hear anything anymore. The possums, Sid and other animals in their group with light stomachs were trying hard not to throw up. Such cruelty was not seen every day.

"Oh man." Diego didn't like the sight either, but the smell of blood shouldn't blow around their noses permanently. He glanced at Soto and the others to see if they were planning anything. But they all still seemed normal.

"What could've possibly happened here?" The pirate rabbit rubbed his little paws with a grin together and Gutt whispered to him to hold back a little.

"I mean, oh no! How could that happened?"

"Beats me." Ethan also felt a little sick from the sight of the dead bodies. Everything went silent. Too quiet, even Manny thought it and looked around. Suddenly steps were heard.

"Did you hear that?" Roger wanted to swallow and clung to his sister.

"Go away, you scared Dino!" Gertie pushed the other away from him and hugged Louis more, even though he didn't ask for it. The spiky one simply assumed that this dead colleague frightened his girlfriend a little and that was why she reacted that way.

"'Kay, this is getting scary, umm..." Scrat hid on Julian's back, who was behind his wife.

Suddenly someone screamed loudly around the square and attacked our friends without further words. Peaches knew how to fight back when a little brown something jumped on her. She wanted to hold on to the thing, but the attacker escaped from her trunk.

"I don't want to stay here." Sid whined again and tried to run away, but he landed on the floor faster than he wanted. Something or someone was holding him down now. He looked up carefully and a female weasel grinned aggressively back. With one foot on his torso and the unsharpened side of her weapon, what looked like a bone ax, she held him down on his throat.

"Who are you?! Are you one of them?!" Asked the stranger.

"Why is she pouncing on him? Didn't she see that we also drew our weapons out or what? Hey lady, are you blind or something.."

"Don't do that, Squint! We're just background characters now." The whole pirate crew sighed bored at Gutt's words. I can never have fun, thought the rabbit and stuck his blade away, offended.

"No! I'm just an innocent sloth! And why did you kill off these animals?" Sid couldn't think of more and wondered why this woman chose him.

"They challenged me to a duel!" The weasel lady moved out in her defense and she raised her ax again. Brooke threw herself in front of her beloved sloth.

"Wait! Please don't do anything to him, he didn't do anything and I love him very much!" The female sloth pleaded for Sid's life. The stranger looked briefly into the eyes of the other two and then raised her weapon to move away from the one lying there.

"Forget this. That sloth is with someone already." The woman said rather to herself.

"Wait, guys. We found a warrior who can help us with the relics." Buck suggested crazy things again.

"Are you crazy? She's a flipping psychopath." Ethan got a bit mad and pointed his trunk at the dead bodies. The female weasel separated a paw from one of the dead bodies with her weapon, gave the piece a strange look and threw it back on the ground.

"Umm, yeah, exactly. What are we waiting for? Ask her." Buck whispered to the red-brown mammoth because he was sitting on it.

"No."

"Please?"

"No way." Juilan also intervened from further back, even if he bravely took cover.

"How about you chatting with her? So from crazy weasel to even crazier weasel." With that, Ethan lifted the male specimen from him and placed it in front of the stranger before stepping back himself.

"Pfft, idiots. Everything has to be done by myself. Hello, lass! We were wondering if you could help us with a little quest of ours."

"I have zero interest on whatever you guys have going on." And the lady didn't even look at Buck, she just continued to eye the bodies as if it were her snack bar or something similar. The red around her mouth was probably not a pretty color. Julian had to stop looking at her, otherwise he would really throw up.

"What? Hey! Where are you goin?! This is one hell of an offer!"

"Forget her, Buck. We'll find someone else to be in the fellowship." The head of the herd doesn't want to take care of a killer too. Why do they only collect strange animals? The other weasel turned back to all of them like a flash suddenly.

"Did you say 'the fellowship'?" The lady now wanted to know exactly.

"Um ... yeah." Her stare made Manny nervous, and not in a good way. To his bad luck, she came closer with the weapon again. She doesn't get my trunk as a trophy, he thought, pulling the body part away from this ax. He also kept a respectful distance between them. So a mammoth would still fit between them. He glanced at his son-in-law, who unfortunately was sitting too far away at the moment.

"The Fellowship? This is 'that' group?" The stranger continued.

"I don't know. We are who we are and we just call ourselves that by accident. Don't you like the name or what?" And his nervousness continued to grow.

"The destined heroes that's going to save the world from Chronos?"

"Yes. Huh? How do you know about that now?" Okay, Manny decided to just leave his mind here. Maybe he should add a stone. Here lies the dead-worked mind of a wise mammoth.

"A worthy cause, I'll join you." The lady announced and finally took down the weapon.

"And do you have a name too?" Diego didn't think it was a good idea to take this killer with them, but maybe she really helped them. For example getting rid of his old pack.

"I'm Tara, warrior of the Mammal's Crown female warrior clan." The female weasel said friendly as she could. As good as it works with an ice-cold look.

"Hey Tara." Grayson waved to her and wondered if he had seen her before. His fans weren't looking for such hobbies otherwise.

"Greetings, Grayson." Tara greeted the raccoon with a slight nod in his direction.

"You see, I'm gathering a team, a crew to stop Chronos." Grayson explained to her without asking.

"Of course, you might also need a guide. He's just in the tavern, so follow me." The raccoon and the weasel chatted as if they were old acquaintances and Manny gave his buddies a look that should ask, what is actually going on here. The saber tooth and the sloth just shrugged their shoulders because they had no plans either.

"I'm coming too." Buck called rather because he didn't trust the two alone. What if Grayson had secrets? They all had to stay careful and everyone had to do their part.

* * *

So our colorful group continued to run further with mixed feelings. They gradually became more and more and there was an unpleasant mood here and there. Especially after seeing Tara's left opponents behind.

But then there was something better to marvel at. Granted, there was a lot to see here and there, but this differently built cave in front of them made everyone stop again. Probably the place that the female weasel described before and certainly also because they all followed her as if she were the leader. Actually, Manny just said nothing this time because he wanted to avoid eye contact with the crazy woman.

"Well, ruffle my feathers, more of this place is sweet." Roger said and flew around the stone. It looked like a rock with holes in a mountain. The Drunken Weasel, you could read on a wooden sign and you could hear other animals from inside. Seems apparently well attended to whatever was in front of our group.

"Okay, here we are." Tara explained monotonously, as if that wasn't clear, because they all stopped behind her.

"Umm ... good?" Manfred couldn't think of anything else and looked at the others, because they could also talk to the killer weasel. A dung beetle rolled out and was completely beside himself.

"Hey, what's up, guys? Can..can anyone of you..Yes what? Oh yes. Can anyone of you call a giant bird to pick me up?" The beetle couldn't get any more because it fell forward in the dirt and a knife was now in its back.

"How bad!" Louis said in shock.

"Well, that little bug got an unhappy ending, being drunk." Squint didn't see such things for the first time, so the view was not surprising. He wanted to run more into this cave, but the captain held him back, shaking his head.

"Oh good, it's happy hour." Sid thought he heard something like a party inside.

"And it's very crowded inside today." Tara remarked and took her bone ax forward to have it ready to hand the next time she attacked.

"Stay behind me." She was about to go in, but Buck stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, easy now, leave. We go in quietly and just find our guide. In and out and without anyone noticing. So no fighting and killing, please? We don't want any bloodshed just like you did back there in this weird arena place."

"Okay, your call." Tara made a little disgruntled, because where was all the fun without a fight, she thought.

"See there? Good then. Come on, mammals, let's head inside." And the male weasel ran ahead into this busy cave. They all walked behind without a word, because it was better than questioning everything and standing on the spot longer. Of course, the pirate rabbit still had to check whether the dung beetle had anything else with him. Unfortunately, he found nothing more than at first glance, just a drunk guy with a small knife in the back. He could only use the thing as a toothpick, but he still took it with him. Better to have it than to have it.

Inside the cave tavern, the Fellowship looked around. In any case, they tried it, as close as they were crowded together. There were really a lot of animals here and chatted out loud that you couldn't really follow your own thoughts.

"Hey, your trunk looks mighty fine, can I hold it for ya?" You could hear it pounding from a seal on the right.

"Yeah, that's my mother. I love my mother. You should love your mother. It's Mother's Day here at Mammal's Crown." A weasel laughed back.

"Except it is not May yet." A sloth interfered with his paws raised. A female Arctic Fox pushed through all of them.

"The Bloody Stump! Who ordered the Bloody Stump?!" She cried, carrying drinks on her back.

"What do you guys want?" And with that she looked into the round of new faces in here.

"We're looking for a guide, know anyone, ma'am?" Sid asked boldly, because this lady now looked friendlier than the other one who was pulling with them.

"There's only one left in the back. Go behind the bathroom and ask for Elric." Answer the white vixen and then get back to work.

"Hey, who ordered the Bloody Stump now?!" And she disappeared back into the fray.

"Okay, thanks." Manny called afterwards, but she probably didn't hear it anymore.

As they went all the way in the back, Peaches almost stepped on a rat waiting for its order. Of course, she immediately tried to distance herself. As far as this is possible here.

"Ah! Watch where you're goin', you over-sized, dumb mammoth! Why I oughta..." The rat complained with its paws in the air, but didn't get far with his complaint when someone else pushed the guy down. Diego did that with the little pest with his hind leg.

"Hmm?" The saber tooth was clueless but didn't push it too far. He just didn't like it when someone was insulting Peaches.

"Diego, did you accidentally step on this rat?" Asked the tigress next to him with a slight grin.

"Well..."

"Get me outta here! I'm getting crushed here! Help me, someone! I can not breathe. He's killing me! He wants to kill me!" The rat complained loudly and exaggeratedly under Diego's paw. The owner raised his leg with a roll of his eyes.

"You shouldn't have overdone it, Uncle Diego." Peaches thanked him, but also looked at the tiger instructively. After all, he couldn't punish anyone who made stupid comments.

"Hang on, Bruno." Sid surprisingly intervened and picked up the rat. Of course Brooke and the male sloth had to know some animals from their last trip here.

"Yeah, he's just a grumpy rat that's trying to succeed in life, but he never does."

"Don't be so strict with the little guy. He tries and that's the most important thing." Brooke said to her boyfriend and glanced at the rat.

"Args, don't mention it, Sidney." Diego got the look of death from the rat.

"Next time, tell your saber to watch where he's going before he steps on a tiny rodent!" Bruno said.

"I'm so sorry." It came half-heartedly from the tiger.

"Bruno's trying to succeed in life but always fails? Can he join us?" Julian also wanted to chat. Especially with new faces.

"He has his moments, his dignity, and his sanity." Added the male sloth.

"Tough guy, huh? Okay, Mister Rat, we'll make sure Diego watches where he's going from now on." Ellie assured the little guy.

"Now that we've got it covered, let's find our guide and get out of here again. And please be careful of tiny rodents next time." Shira's last sentence was only there to tease her husband a little. She didn't want him to turn into Manny during the trip, as grim as he looked the whole time.

"Yeah, no reason to be mad at ya. I've been stepped on and even sat on. More than once. Remember? Back at the Christmas party, I got sat on by Ellie, Shira, Gladys, Steffie, Katie, Meghan, Gertie, Peaches and finally the lovely Brooke unawarely. I got cracked bones after that. I had to recover for forty eight hours." Scrat commented and Sid thought the squirrel wanted to overdo it since he could talk.

Everyone again apologized to the little guy and Diego more seriously this time, to the rat.

"Huh, maybe I should join the Herd one day." Bruno found it a little uncomfortable that he was the center of attention.

"You can calm down, we are all here. Mixed from small to large." Gupta spoke a few sentences, because he always got on very well with the rats on their ship.

"Thanks for the support." It came from Shira and Scrat almost simultaneously.

"Oh no, now we're being like Roger and Katie." Remarked the squirrel.

"It's okay. They have their own fun with those guys over there." The saber-toothed tiger pointed to the bright mammoth and the raptor. The two chatted out of boredom with a close mammoth couple.

"Ever heard of psychic connection? It's really cool. Once you speak together, you'll know maybe who your true partner is." Roger babbled this and more because he thought about it a lot on the way.

"For sho?" It came from a rather petite mammoth.

"Yeah. Me and Roger would be a great couple, don't you think?" Katie spoke to completely strange animals that they both knew for a moments.

"Wow, that sounds really interesting!" Gave a feminine mammoth his opinion out.

"Did you hear that, Diego?" Shira got another idea to tease her partner when she heard what the others were saying.

"Hm?" Answered her saber tooth.

"I have to leave you. Scrat is now my new lover because we said the same thing at the same time. Psychic connection means more than anything else."

"Oh stop, you silly kitty." He rolled his eyes but grinned anyway. She smiled and stuck her tongue out before someone suddenly pushed her.

"Okay, boring. We go on!" Squint demanded and pushed further back, where a weasel was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

"We should ask about Elric. So hey first, and are you Elric?" Ethan mixed up again, because he enjoyed leading.

"The voice of the wind is a light in the evening sun. The children of the stars lead Mother Earth to rest. The darkness is filled with the moans of happy spiritual lovers." The guy opened his eyes, who apparently meditated and mastered a foreign language, because the red-brown mammoth understood nothing of what was said.

"I sensed you all would come. We weasels are connected to all living and non-living things." He moves closer to Diego.

"Let our souls unite." The new weasel, named Elric, leaned his forehead against that of the saber-toothed tiger.

"Are they snogging now?" Gertie asked her boyfriend, because they both do that a lot. Louis, Julian and Buddy really had to resist laughing at that. Other talks went ahead in front.

"Is it just me or is Elric like me, except more crazy? Like that other weasel, Buck?" Shangri Lama whispered behind a hoof to Teddy. It actually took this a while to find an answer. Gladys doesn't distract him this time.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about the guy. Look at Elric, he looks like a lover to me..us. I meant us. Of course, only metaphorically speaking here."

"You have the equality and the imagination of a remorseless assassin. The music of the copper beaches in your heart. I mel-o all mammals fills nin emel. (The love of all mammals fills my heart.)" Finally he kissed the tiger's head.

"I knew it." The female raptor called in the background.

"Yes, it's all fascinating and so on. Listen, I'm Diego, and we were hoping you could.." Elric puts his paw on the sabers mouth.

"Shh ... shh ... Names carry no meaning."

"Okay, listen! We need a guide." The tiger tried again.

"Physical or spiritual guidance?" Elric's voice sounded soft in here.

"We're going to the city of Olympus. Chronos is after us and we.." Manfred wanted to make it clearer, but was also silenced.

"Shhhh ... The wind will tell me, what to do with you all. Stand still and let me penetrate your aura, mammoth." With this the weasel patted the mammoth's trunk.

"You want to do what? With my… aura?" Manny was now completely overwhelmed, this is getting more and more surreal for him. First a singing weasel, then a killer weasel and now he is patted by a weasel that has probably smelled too many wrong plants.

Elric starts talking in the foreign language again and also starts massaging the mammoth in some places.

"O, Winds-o Destinui, in ask cin hi; are hin mammals worthui na glenn-or-di anand keeper, Chronos?" (O, Winds of Destiny, I ask you this; are these mammals worthy to go up against the time keeper, Chronos?) As he was done to penetrate Manny's aura, he acted happily.

"The wind tells me to go with you all! My bow will sing with your weapons, I am ready." And he knelt down and kisses Manny's right foot.

"Oh... boy.." The oldest mammoth felt uneasy.

"Looks like you got a worshipper." Of course, Ellie thought it was funny and nudged him in the side. Manny sighed annoyed.

Outside the backroom, they meet up back with the rest of the Fellowship members who stayed behind. A male red sloth and a female saber was playing tic-tac-toe on the table with a bone knife and the thing got stuck in the table.

"You klutzy idiot!" Scolded the muscular tigress.

"Sorry!" The red sloth said on it.

"Good news, gang. We found him." Sid roared, not realizing that they weren't all closely followed. Elric bowed to Sid with his bow and arrows on the back.

"My bow will sing with your weapons." Serene with inner peace.

"Whatever, let's bounce." Because the pirate hare hated to stand still.

As the Fellowship was about to head out, Grayson bumped into a female mammoth.

"Oh! Hey ow!"

"Watch where you're going, you little... um raccoon?" The mammoth somehow lost speech when she saw the other animal that was bumping into her.

"Uh ... Whoa." Grayson couldn't find many words either.

"Especially you, little squirrel." Scrat blushed, hopped behind Teddy and pressed his face against the puffy tail of the rabbit.

"Whoa-ho, okay, relax. She's just complimenting you, little guy." The turquoise rabbit patted Scrat's head soothingly.

"You think I didn't know that?"

"Come on, Scrat." Peaches got the little one out of hiding spot.

"You look pretty." Steffie put a purple flower on Coco, which she probably picked nearby.

"You do your hair?" Meghan wanted to know a little arrogantly.

"Yeah, all the time." Coco shook her beautiful hair a little. They were curlier than any other mammoth before.

"Your hairstyle looks so original. Your eyes are golden like the sun. Your fur is nice and soft and your trunk looks almost like Peaches' trunk but slightly smaller." The mentioned mammoth tried to hold the girls back a little. Not everyone liked to be checked from top to bottom and that when just getting to know each other.

"Gee, I never had anyone watching me before, thanks." Coco probably didn't see it that bad.

"You're welcome." Katie was happy to give compliments.

"Oh, and ... who's the raptor?"

"I'm Roger and a Dakotaraptor."

"A Dino Bird?" Coco found the group fascinating.

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"Yeah, and ... I'm definitely in love with Roger." Katie admitted.

"Eeeeeeeww! Gross!" Meghan and Steffie didn't think that was great.

"You like Roger? So Roger, Roger?" They asked several times.

"Don't judge me, he's so dreamy." The bright mammoth leaned a little against her dinosaur. Steffie looked at Roger, who was smiling nervously at her.

"Total nightmare." She added.

"Yup. Total nightmare." Meghan totally agreed.

"He always worries about everybody and is taking charge like a boy scout." Katie explained her reasons.

"Could you guys help me with Roger? WOULD YOU?"

"What !? No!" Steffie saw no chance.

"I'm thinking, um ... Sleepover tonight!" Suggested Meghan.

"Ugh, excuse me while I barf." Steffie acted as if she wanted to throw up. Katie looked at the girls with big begging eyes.

"Aww, quit doing that eye thing. Not fair!" And the bright mammoth started to sniffle and whimper.

"Stop it! Stop that!" Meghan warned.

"Oh my God, she's gonna cry!" Ethan couldn't see girls crying, Katie released a stream of tears and the sad eyes intensified to its most.

"Okay, okay. We'll do it tonight." Steffie gave in.

"Yeahhh, cool!" It came together, from Katie and Roger.

"What's wrong with you, nerds?" Steffie was annoyed.

"We have a psychic connection, what did you expect?" Said the dino.

"Yeah, you're the ones with the problem." Katie added.

"Kids, quit to mess around! We got a quest to do." Manny reminded the younger mammoths.

"I'll be also playing some songs with you ladies at a campfire or on a ship any night." Albert promised and got out his wooden lute. He also wraped Steffie's trunk around him and on the tip of his instrument and started singing.

"Lay your trunk around it's neck and I'll play you a catchy tune..." The mammoth yanked her trunk away and goes back to Ethan.

"I have zero interest in you and your instrument. Plus, I have a boyfriend. Stop bothering me!"

"Aww, c'mon! No fair, man! I really want to sing a song to some really cute mammal! Guess I won't be getting that chance anytime soon, darn." The teenager said angrily and sadly.

"It's okay boy. Something like that takes time and you're still young." Teddy patted his shoulder.

"I said STOP! Let's get moving." Manny repeated it louder. Then some stomping was heard.

"Guys, do you heard something too?" It was irritated by her male sloth.

"No" Julian replied, but then a jaguar roar was heard.

"General Gato ?! Great Raccoon King Arcturus save us now!" Said a tough mammoth. General Gato came in and growled around.

"Where is the Fellowship?" The Jaguar roared on. All of the mammals pointed to the herd and the rest.

"We meet again, mammal vermin." Gato growled at them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our favorite general, Gato. What do you want this time? Came back to us for round two?" Ethan stepped forward coolly.

"You are correct, mammoth. Now, get ready to die."

"Oh gee, how original." Teddy said sarcastically.

"I accept your challenge." Tara got involved too. Gato looked at her.

"Well, look at this, a female warrior. And a weasel at that point. Let us duel!"

"Now you're speaking my language." Tara got ready to fight and charges at him with her battle cry, but Gato grabbed her.

"Let's help her!" Gutt got his sawfish sword ready.

"You heard the captain!" Squint had his knife also ready.

"Let's help her!"

"For the family! For the Fellowship! For ma children! For Gavin!" Raz got out her pufferfish flail.

"Just like old times?" Gavin took out his secret dual sawfish swords.

"Just like old times." Said Gutt.

So Gavin, Gutt, Squint and Raz jumped in and fought Gato. Gavin made the first hit by spinning his swords on Gato's chest. Tara swinged her ax on Gato's torso. Gutt knocked Gato's head with the hilt of his sawfish sword. Squint savagely stabbed Gato's armor four times and knocks him down. Raz swung her pufferfish flail on Gato and ends it by jumping up and landed her feet on Gato's chest and his face hard. Gato went weak and walked away, coughing out blood.

"Aargh! Beaten again!"

"Sorry buddy. You just can't plan for the fellowship." Gutt said.

"As I said before, we'll meet again, mammal vermin!" Gato grabed a drink and throws it whole down.

"And it will be for the last time! Your deaths will soon come to pass by Lord Chronos! You'll see!" The Jaguar walked away.

"Victory is ours! Kudos all around, especially to you, Raz!" Gavin laughed.

"Yeah, good goin'!" Even Squint thought it was good. Raz came up to the older Raptor.

"Gavin... I'm sorry I abandoned you."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry I yelled at you." Gavin apologized.

"It's okay, mate. I deserve that as I said, it was on me." She looked down and made a sad face.

"I should've been a better wife and mother." Gavin kissed her cheek at the words.

"Raz, it's all over, we're back together again." And he hugged her.

"Yeah mom, think about it. A one big family back together again. "Gertie hugged her too.

"You're not alone in this, mom. I repeat, not alone in this. You have us." Roger also participated. Katie and Louis joined in on the family hug.

"I'm dating your daughter." Louis admitted.

"And I started liking your son." It came from Katie.

"I know." Gavin smiled again.

"Thanks, mates. I needed that." Raz sniffed happily.

Squint cried for the first time at this scene.

"This is just touching!" He howled more.

"It is just touching." And the rabbit hugged Flynn.

"Well, would ya look at that, Gavin? Your family is back together again. Raz is back with you. And later on, you'll have a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law. Soon enough, you have grandchildren." Buck intervened here. Gavin chuckled on that.

"You're so crazy, man."

"So crazy." The weasel chuckled too.

"I'm glad everyone loves everyone again right now. But about vhat Gato said about us being dead by Chronos, it goes vor all of us, and iv there's anything you guys vanted to do bevore ve, you know, died. Now vould be a good time." It came from Gupta enlightening.

"How long until Chronos will destroy us?" Manny wanted to know.

"Well, let's see. There's four generals and there's the first four months this year, meaning right now we're only in January." Grayson gasped.

"A hundred and twenty one days. Yes! We all have a hundred and twenty one days left to live until Sandmageddon!" Everyone was shocked, but some just counted their paws on how much is a hundred and twenty one days.

"Whooooooooo ! Whoooo! Woo." Buddy came with some coconut drinks around and seemed drunk. Everyone looked at him with worried or concerned eyes.

"What?" So the herd and the rest decided to take a break because most of the stomachs started to growl. Manny also didn't want to know what would happen if the carnivores among them got too hungry. It was announced that everyone was allowed to look around, but should stay close. Grayson suggested later to rejoin the meeting cave from this location. He also quickly explained where this cave could be found before everyone was gone.

Some animals really have no respect and manners. You listen to someone until the end of the conversation, he thought a little snapped and also went off.

* * *

A little later inside Mammal's Crown's, the Fellowship and other mammals of Mammal's Crown have been gathered around the dining table made by Grayson. The guy then came in with a bucket full of leaves.

"This is a bucket." The raccoon presented what he was holding in his paws.

"Dear Poseidon.." Gutt groaned annoyed.

"There's more."

"No!"

"It contains the dying wish of everyone here." With that Grayson turned to the pirate bunny and Roger.

"You two did collect everyone's dying wish, right?" The animal made sure with the bucket.

"Of course!" Roger confirmed.

"Oh, you betcha!" Squint also answered.

"Excellent! Ladies and gentlemen, synchronize your homemade death watches! And ready your weapons! "Grayson continued.

Buttons were pushed all around the room as everyone turned their wooden watches on courtesy of the weasel scientist of Mammal's Crown, Dr. Weaselby and everyone got their weapons ready for their big battle against Chronos. Grayson then began to walk around to give a speech.

"We have 121 days left to live until Sandmageddon will happen. For most mammals, no time at all." He placed his paws on Ellie's left leg and Shira's shoulder.

"We are not most mammals. We are heroes and villains! We are from the Valley, the Seas, the Dinosaur World, Geotopia and our beloved Mammal's Crown! We have the resources and the will to make these hours count! "With that speech, everyone in the room gave their applause.

"Preach, Grayson! Preach!" Buddy dragged along.

"Well said, mate! Well said!" Buck commented.

"You did a fine speech, Monsieur Grayson." Complemented Silas.

"Outta the park, Grayson!" The pirate rabbit called in.

"Well done!" Katie and Roger chatted again at the same time and blushed as they looked at each other. Steffie, Meghan and Gavin looked at them amused.

"Thank you, guys. The clock is ticking, ladies and gentlemen. Let's begin." Grayson then took a leaf card out of the bucket.

"Our first dying wish is Squint's! He's ... drawn a picture of me getting obliterated by an asteroid.." Squint began to giggle on it, along with a few others in the room.

"I have something radiating off of me." Grayson explained.

"Yeah, those are stink lines!" The rabbit turned his attention to the rest of the Fellowship and Mammal's Crown's inhabitants.

"That's why the asteroid hit him, 'cause he smells!" He laughed. Many in the cave began to laugh. Some just smiled in amusement. Others simply remained mature and calm.

"Yes, I see ..." The raccoon didn't like being laughed at. After the crowd's laughter died down, Grayson pulled another leaf card out of the bucket. Strangely enough another one by Squint.

"Here you've drawn me having a make-out session with Coco." The guy with the leaves suddenly felt too warm under his fur. The pirate began to laugh even more, Grayson continued to pull out leaf cards by the rabbit.

"Coco having a make-out session with me." Squint, along with a few others continued to laugh.

"Both of us relaxing on lawn chairs.."

"Lawn chairs..." Flynn mouthed Grayson. The rabbit was now nearly in tears with laughter and covering his head on the table.

"I'm crying, and Coco has stink lines coming off of her-DID ANYONE BESIDES SQUINT PUT A LEAF CARD INTO THE BUCKET ?!" The raccoon complained loudly. Everyone shook their heads. Some had joined Squint in laughter, while a few were getting up to take care of other things here.

"Oh man, classic Squint!" The rabbit was talking to himself.

"Fantastic, this was a huge waste of my time.." Grayson almost whined and looked disappointed.

"Hey, you did not read mine!" The pirate captain interfered.

"Augh, does it say you want the bucket for your new ship?"

"Yes! Yes it does!" The big monkey confirmed. Grayson pushed the bucket over to Gutt as rest of the mammals got up to leave and going about their business in the cave.

"Good luck to all of you! And may have time on our souls." The raccoon prayed with his paws raised. Diego and Sid were walking out side by side. The sloth carried some fruits because he felt like it. On their way past the pirate monkey one fruit fell out of Sid's grip. Gutt who noticed this in the corner of his eye got an odd idea. He took the apple and put it in the bucket before walking off too.

"Yes, this'll do nicely." The pirate whispered.

"Guys, come with me. There's someone I want you guys to meet and something I want you all to see." The raccoon asked when he remembered something.

"You just love to surprise us, don't you, Grayson?" Remarked Diego.

"I have my ways, Diego. Now, follow me."

As everyone followed, Roger kept Katie's trunk romantically.

"Don't think we don't know what you're doing, you two, we know your status." Grayson suddenly appeared in front of the two, although they were actually running further back in the group.

"Yeah. Katie, you like Roger." The molehog also came along.

"And little brother, you like Katie." Of course Gertie also teased.

"A smart wooly mammoth like you." Louis went on. His girlfriend slowly rubbed off on him.

"And a nerdy scaly raptor like you." A sister had to take revenge.

"You could make the perfect couple." The two sang in unison.

"Not funny, guys." Roger laughed sarcastically.

"Yeah, what he said. Right, Rogie?" Katie eyed her raptor.

"Yeah. A total win-win." And he winked at her.

"For you two-two." The spiky girl shared playfully.

"Very clever, Louis. Very cute." The bright mammoth smirked.

"I don't know who I feel happy for. Louis and Gertie? Or Katie and Roger?" Ethan whispered to Manny.

"Forget about it, they're on a roll." Said the older one.

"Okay, come on guys. Let's go." Grayson took too long, even though he himself asked the two about it.

"You too, Raptorero and Mammothet." He announced it clearly for Roger and Katie.

"Come on, Katie." The Raptor smiled.

"OK." She answered and he gave her trunk a light squeeze and started walking.

"So, Gavin, how did you know about Soto?" Diego finally wanted to know, but so far has not had a moment to ask.

"Me and him used to be best friends, until Soto clawed me in the back and nearly left me for dead. Gutt and his crew showed up to help me and of course that also had its price."

"How dare you, to treat this old but good reptile that way!" The saber tooth poisoned Soto on it.

"And since then, I've been with Gutt's crew four fifteen years and before Raz made 'the choice'. We were ready to become mates for life and we already got two eggs going."

"You never had a vision of teamwork, Gavin." Soto didn't want to just leave it at that. He also had a say.

"Oh but I have a vision of family." The Raptor was slightly annoyed.

"Well, cool it, Groomzilla, you can walk down the aisle after this mess is cleaned up!" Zeke also intervened without being asked.

"Watch your back, saber! This isn't about that! SOMETHING BIG IS GOING DOWN!" Now Gavin's anger had really got going.

"Quit your bickering! We're nearing Ryan's cave." Grayson was also a great arbiter.

* * *

The Fellowship went for a little walk again. This time the destination was a cave that apparently housed ships. At least if you can believe the tour guide.

"Ryan, are you here?" The raccoon hooted into the cave to bring the wanted animal out.

"What is it, boy?! One of my workers sleeping on the job again?!" Someone called out from inside the cave.

"Ryan, just come down." Grayson demanded more insistently. The wanted type came out of his room, but was still above a stone staircase. It was a wolf, but looked friendly.

"Oh, what is so.." The stranger widened his eyes, but was not really surprised. Grayson kept dragging strange animals around.

"Ah, the Fellowship, what are they doing here? I'll- I'll be right down!" And he ran down some rocky steps.

"So, you're saying Ryan can actually help us with a ship?" Ethan asked a question again.

"Oh yeah, never heard of the Pathfinder? You're gonna love it. Big ship for all of us. Even the bigger ones." The raccoon eyed Cretaceous, Maelstrom and Rudy.

"Wow!" Sid and Buck were amazed.

"Yeah, triple masted, double decks, fifty cannons, cabins for all of us and the giant dinos." And then he looked over at the raptors.

"And no, not you three. You got a cabin with the others." Grayson joked, but the three didn't seem to find it so funny.

"Ignore him Gertie, you are perfect for me." The prickly one pointed out to his girlfriend. The female raptor played a sad face.

"What? I.. I didn't want to insult.." The raccoon held up his paws in defense. But when Gertie and Louis laughed, he pouted.

"You have a strange sense of humor." So he preferred to address the others who have to listen to him.

"So let's get this straight. The Pathfinder can carry all of us, even the bigger ones and it can take us to Olympus in exactly... how long?" Wanted the oldest mammoth to know.

"About thirty three days." Immediately it shot out of the raccoon and Manfred was afraid that something could go wrong. The new leader of the group took it too lightly, as if it were a fun adventure.

"Just before then." Added the monkey.

"What? Thirty three days? That'll take up to one month!" Albert remarked aloud.

"Which makes it eighty eight days then." Many in the group said almost simultaneously.

"Dang, you eggheads are smarter than a darn hawk." The teenager exaggerated and overreacted.

"I thought it'll be a hundred days and we'll never be able to save the world then." Shangri Llama laughed.

"Young Albert..." And he spit on the top of the weasels head.

"Ack! Hey!" Disgusted, the little one took distance from the spitting animal.

"You heard the smart ones. It'll only take thirty three days. Making a hundred and twenty one days down to eighty eight." The Llama babbled even more.

"But I might get seasick out there!" A certain mammoth shouted in the background on this.

"You don't have to come with us. Nobody forces you." But Manfred was ignored.

"Oh nonsense, my little friend. I was only seven when I sailed out onto the seas with my family. Only a mere youngster, now sit." The Shangri Llama pated the boy's head hard.

"Ow! How long ago was that? A thousand years?" Albert grew cheeky.

"Lousy sack a horns.." He muttered to it and rubbed the spot on his head.

"Well listen, you little.." But the llama didn't get a chance to complain, because this Ryan finally came to them.

"Grayson, what are you doing here? Are you on leave? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Shh, calm down, buddy. I'm fine. Long story, Ry." The raccoon said to the guy who was totally calm.

"Now then, Gray. What's the big mystery? What are you doing here looking like you lost an argument with a dung beetle?"

"I don't know where to start. You know I came back from the Labyrinth of Knowledge. I told the Fellowship, by note, to come to my cave home in ten minutes. I told them what we need to do. I joined them. I got attacked by General Gato and recruited some new members." Grayson babbled like a waterfall because he didn't want to leave anything out and his voice sounded so good here where it gave a slight echo.

"Howdy sir, Albert, bard. A pleasure to meet you." Introduced the little weasel himself.

"I'm Tara, of Mammal's Crown's female warrior clan." The warrior also got involved.

Elric was stroking Teddy between the ears. Gladys was supposed to be jealous, just like this weasel was attached to her boyfriend. But she herself suggested an open relationship. Teddy chuckled nervously.

"And this is Elric."

"Your team so far, huh?" Wolf didn't look overwhelmed or anything.

"That's right. Us, the Fellowship." Now the squirrel jumped forward. The guy cheered when he saw Scrat.

"I knew it! I knew it! Haha! This is the chance I've been waiting for!"

"Waiting for what?" The only tigress stepped forward with interest.

"To show you all the Pathfinder, the only ship that can carry the Fellowship to Olympus and back!" Ryan announced.

"Alright, let's get going. Get the ship ready and we're off to Olympus!" Said Manny now.

"Not so fast, my poofy friend." Said Grayson.

"Okay, first off, THANK you for not saying 'fat'."

"You're welcome."

"Why?"

"We must test out the cannons first before letting this bad boy out in the water out there."

"I'll handle this. Dobson! Raz!" Ordered the pirate captain. The two of course started immediately walking up.

"Test out the cannons right now or we'll be spending vacation time here for twenty five years!" Dobson and Raz got worried looks on their faces.

"Just kidding." Gutt smiled and then got serious again.

"But seriously go test the cannons. No leaving the ship until you test out the cannons. Now get working!" The command was clear and was immediately carried out by the two.

* * *

Of course this took time and so the Fellowship had to wait until the kangaroo and warthog were done with it. Driving out boredom was not easy if you had to stay in one place.

"Mom and Dobson should be done by now." Roger thought.

"Indeed. If not, our gooses are cooked." Gupta was also fed up with waiting.

"They have to do this right or this is the end for all of us." Diego tried to stop an uprising, even if he got restless too. Scrat patted his paw.

"Take it easy. We'll be heading out before we know it." The little guy insured.

"Thanks, Scrat. And I'm glad you don't have any fleas on you."

"That's because I take so many baths, thanks to Brooke. So I can keep them away."

"That's what the fresh smell was." Buddy intervened. Steffie huged Scrat with her trunk on that and presses him against her chest.

"I'm glad you're always clean, Scrat. And... I'm sorry I called you a rat the first time we've met." The mammoth apologized.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Stef. Ya didn't know."

"Hmm.." Steffie smiled.

Raz finally came back with Dobson.

"Hey, mates! We're done." She announced exhausted but happy.

"Yeah, we're done." Dobson was sweating from work too.

"At last. We've been waiting for one hour. Bugger!" Rudy roared from above.

"Oi! That's my private line when I'm in sticky situations, mate! Bloody hell, Rudy. That's just rude." Buckminster instructed his new pet.

"Rudy rude." Eddie laughed.

"Bro, that's mean to call the dinosaur that." Crash deadpanned. The brothers also sat on the white dino.

"Aww, damn it Crash. You just love to be serious at times, don't you?"

"Of course, the Fellowship depends on all of us as well as Grayson."

"Oh no, now you're sounding like Manny." Eddie said and the mammoth heard that of course.

"Huh, I feel like I should be proud of myself because I finally used all my disciplinary gifts for something important." Manfred said a little proud.

"Oh, now look what you've done. Great job, bro. Now you're ruining everything!" Annoyed that opossum.

"Relax, it's only temporary. No big deal." Said the other.

"Hmph, yeah right."

"Okay, guys. You know what would really break up any fights and putting aside our differences?" Grayson pushed in between.

"What?" The brothers looked at the raccoon questioningly.

"Standing down on the count of three?"

"Grayson is right. Look at what you two have become right now. Along with the Fellowship at the beginning. Trust issues. We should all put our petty squabbles, work together and end the bickering, once and for all." It came from Louis wise.

"Okay." Eddie let out.

"One." Crash said.

"Two." The molehog continued to count.

"Math makes me nervous!" Complained Eddie.

"Three!" Gertie groaned in anger. The twins shook paws and Grayson clapped his too.

"Huzzah! Now we have no more grudges." He looked at the possums, then the whole Fellowship one by one.

"Alright. Time to get the Pathfinder to sea." Ryan announced and then spoke to his staff.

"Get it ready, boys!" A mole figurine started walking towards him.

"Right away, sir! You heard the big boss, get the boat ready! That's right, come on, hurry up! Get it out of the garage! I haven't got all day!" Then he waved to the Fellowship.

"Remember your flowers, your food supplies, your drinking supplies and weapons. If you lose them, don't worry, we'll keep them safe in the boss' room. So you don't have to stop the boat journey to come back and get them, so let's go!"

"Well, this is quest is going to come off at a great start." Roger sneaked a kiss on Katies cheek in the face.

"Oh, Roger, you light up my life." The woman blushed and giggled.

* * *

In the sunset, the Pathfinder is out on to the sea and ready for the Fellowship to come aboard. Some different animals were conversing about Chronos and his generals near the herd.

"How could Chronos send his general here?" Wanted to know a brave mammoth.

"I can't believe it." Said a female muscular saber.

"Are we gonna be okay?" A little weasel wailed anxiously.

"What are we gonna do?" A feminine sloth was baffled.  
The Fellowship is walking in a straight line from chronological order of each member, because Grayson wanted it like that.

"Alright, guys. Do not worry. We got this. Grayson and the Fellowship here have got your back, your front and your sides."

"Even my fur?" Came a small saber-toothed tiger child walking up to them.

"Yes, even your cute little fur, Barnaby." Sid smiled.

"Looks like you're going to be okay." Brooke the Bruno cheered.

"Yo guys! Are you a hundred percent sure we shouldn't evacuate?" The rat also had questions.

"No, they're gonna take care of us. Right, Grayson?"A female opossum languished.

"Yeah, I'm positive! Nobody needs to evacuate! We will rise above these major threats! Everybody, please just stay calm. Just relax. Take a deep breath and enjoy the rest of your days at Mammal's Crown. Everything is going to be fine." Victory although he didn't really know what was going to happen, our heroic raccoon calmed everyone down.

"We can't screw this up, Grayson." It came from the silver-haired tigress.

"If we fail, it's our entire fault." Raz acknowledged her part.

"Don't worry, we got this. Watch out, Chronos, here we come! And ready or not, temporal generals, here we go!" Grayson believed in himself and the rest of his crew.

"Good to go?" Roger then asked again.

"Yes, good to go!" The raccoon replied, not understanding why they had any doubts. He'll win the thing and stand as a hero as it is meant to be.

"Cool!" Said the young Raptor satisfied.

Everyone got on board and really tried to believe in themselves, but each of them still had their weaknesses. For example, regarding seaworthiness. But they all tried to trust each other in order to achieve this great goal that lay ahead with splendor and glory. It was only important to some animals that they survive the whole thing, which was not a bad thought, because not everyone was a fighting nature.

* * *

Meanwhile, the sandy enemy of our fellowship was somewhere else, playing golf temporarily. Certainly to pass the time because all the bad guys did this. Nobody knew this exactly. Anyway, he got another hole in one just when he was disturbed. One of those metal things called Tinker Toys appeared next to the ruler of time. It was even the commander Tinormous.

"Well done, my lord. One more hole and you're close to beating your personal record! But, my lord. We have to be ready for Sandmageddon in one hundred and twenty one days, otherwise.." The metal creature reminded its master.

"When are you going to shut up, metalhead?" But Chronos didn't seem very pleased about the visit.

"I beg your pardon, my lord." The servant apologized. The golfer swings his golf club when he heard the doors to his throne room. But he accidentally missed his target. The ball bounced off a wall and it hit a Tinker Toy in the eye.

"My lord." Gato knelt down after entering and greeting his master.

"Any news of the Fellowship?" Chronos asked bored, because he got a clue what his general's answer would be.

"They've beaten me." The jaguar tried to look really apologetic and depressed. Chronos did not even have to say anything, that punishing and piercing look was enough.

"It's been a very difficult situation. They are being helped by a great warrior. I've been wounded many times and almost died. "Gato tried to explain his situation, but that only made his counterpart angry.

"NOOO! I will not tolerate degradation and defeat in my new era!" The timekeeper shouted and bonks the unconscious Tinker Toy on the head with the golf club. Three new servants came in and probably saved the Jaguar from a terrible punishment. For now. It was the eagle, the snake and the gorilla that came in but gave Gato contemptuous looks. The news of failure got around quickly.

"So, my lord, we have news." Reported the beast of the sky.

"Oh geez, what now, Aguila?!" Chronos didn't want to hear any more bad news.

"We have a slight problem. The Fellowship is heading to Olympus to get the eight relics to defeat us!" The eagle tried to announce this quickly because he did not like to cause his master to be in a bad mood.

"Impossible! Unless..." The sandy master complained and looked at Gato angrily.

"Listen, I did all I could, but it wasn't enough." The jaguar tried to explain, but it was no use. It was simply grabbed by the neck and pulled up.

"FOOL! We need to erase half of the mammal population and the Fellowship and you've gone out of your way and let them escape?!" Chronos yelled at the General as he choked him.

"Hey..I- I- I can..explain ..." He gasped for breath, but to his luck the ruler lost interest in the matter and threw him to the ground.

"And your battles have been quite underwhelming." He also glanced at the other generals with terrible disappointment.

"I'm disappointed in you incompetent fools. Violently disappointed."

"We don't care about your disappointment..." Aguila come closer to him lays a winged finger on time master's chest.

"Lord Chronos." Added the eagle man, almost amused. The sand lord got out his staff that makes the four generals gasp in fear.

"Do you care now?" He made the thing work so everyone got a mind numbing headache.

"Next time, train harder." He looked at the giant ape, because he would certainly not disappoint him.

"Mono, go take care of those fellowship mammals." The mentioned stepped forward and gets out a giant stone hammer.

"I'm on it, Lord Chronos! I, General Mono, will crush those puny mammals, birds and reptiles!" The monkey swore in a hurry.

"Good. Now, if you hurry and defeat them on their ship, I got a bigger apple just for you." The Lord of Time promised him.

"Those mammals are as good as dead!" And the servant moved his right arm around and rests the handle of the hammer on his shoulder as he started walking out of the keep.

"Do not FAIL me, mono!" The ape general could still hear behind him, but of course he won't.

* * *

**GrayestLobster7:** And so with our Fellowship out on the seas, Gato defeated two times, Grayson, Albert, Tara, and Elric joined the team, our journey begins. However, Mono is coming and Chronos isn't taking two defeats down. What lies in store for our Fellowship? Will Mono fail at least two times just like Gato? Stay tuned as the journey continues on "The Battle Against Chronos: The Relic War".

**evil-catgirl:** For all impatient readers, one chapter always comes out in a month. Sounds fair considering the length of the chapters.


	3. Meet Coco and King, Naval Battles

**First Arrival** \- 8 Days and 51 Minutes  
**Time** \- 8:51PM  
**Second Arrival** \- 12 Days 40 Minutes  
**Time** \- 12:40PM  
**Days Tota**l - 20  
**How did Mono arrive the first time** \- Teleportation  
**How did Mono arrive the second time** \- By his own ship designed by Chronos, with an army of Tinker Toys  
**Tinker Toy Count** \- 39  
**Victories** \- 67  
**How many mammals against Mono** \- 20

The Fellowship members against Mono

1\. Grayson_-_-_-_ 6. Gavin_-_-_-_-_11. Diego_-_-_-_-_-_16. Ethan  
2\. Manny_-_-_-_-_7. Gertie_-_-_-_-_12. Shira_-_-_-_-_-_-17. Teddy  
3\. Soto_-_-_-_-_-_8. Gutt_-_-_-_-_-_13. Raz_-_-_-_-_-_-_18. Buck  
4\. Peaches_-_-_-_9. Squint_-_-_-_-_14. Tara_-_-_-_-_-_-_19. Louis  
5\. Julian_-_-_-_-_-10. Flynn_-_-_-_-_15. Coco_-_-_-_-_-_-_20. Sid

**Life Cycle – 131**

In the bright sunset on the water there was more time getting used to all this, because there were more animals among them unsuitable for the sea. Sid couldn't judge whether it was good or bad that others would feel nausea on the water too. But there was also a lot to tell and get to know to distract from one or other misery. Only Coco held back a little and remained silent as she watched the others. She didn't really know if she should just join in, even if everyone seemed friendly. Manfred, who wasn't that big of a chat himself, noticed that, of course. He considered for a moment before approaching the young mammoth.

"So ... This voyage seems good so far." He tried smalltalk first.

"Yeah. I miss Mammal's Crown already." Coco gave out in response.

"Well, hey. She finally talks." Buck half jumped into the woman's face so that she shook her head, startled. Manny pulled the weasel a little away from her.

"What he actually wanted to say, is something on your mind right now?" Added the oldest mammoth and the younger one sighed.

"What do you say to a raccoon you just met at the tavern?" The question didn't come out of her mouth easily.

"Good question." Gavin also interfered in the conversation because he wanted his children to think they are safe from him. If he stays with them, they'll always make innocent excuses like 'Dad, I'm just holding Louis so he doesn't fall off.' or 'Katie only strokes my back with her trunk because the waves are bad for my stomach.' Of course, the Dakotaraptor thought, and if he's not careful he's an instant grandfather. But not in the next hundred years.

"I'm sorry, but I think I missed the beautiful lady's name." The pirate captain also approached the female mammoth. He actually wanted to prank the old Raptor, but there's still time for that later.

"I'm very quiet when we're in public. Don't want to introduce myself too much." Coco explained and found it strange how quickly she said yes to all of this. Should she be here at all, with all the strangers? Well, except for Grayson, because she occasionally saw him from afar. But knowing him as real didn't count.

"With us you don't have to be afraid, dear. We're all on the same page." Gutt couldn't help looking at a certain Raptor. This of course stared back poisonously.

"But you can introduce yourself to us." Buck put his paws on his knees and crouched a little, but still looked up.

"Would you do that?" He asked in a childish voice.

"OK. My name is Coco. I'm a mammoth from the Southern Isles and it's the hottest part of the Valley." She rattled that down more, because if four guys stare at you, it won't be easier if she doesn't say anything.

"I remember that place. I had to get Julian out of the boiling pool before his fur was boiled." Manny rolled his eyes again because his son-in-law can sometimes be really stupid. It's just a good thing that he only suffered minor burns from it, which could be treated with ice and bathing every day.

"Otherwise, his skin would be next. Although, I've always wanted to know what you look like without fur." The head of the herd found it better to ignore Buckminster's comment.

"Hm, why didn't anyone tell me about this place? Sounds like a nice neighborhood. Well, except maybe for a few dead animals." Gavin got a pat from Manfred's trunk for the last sentence. The raptor looked up at his buddy. This then pointed to the girl's face.

"Oh... I'm sorry. I mean, of course.. " But the dino was interrupted by her.

"It's fine. The death count doesn't bother me. Mammals either way die every day by doing something stupid or not. You always walk on a fine line between life and death." Coco spoke her thoughts out about it and the men could only nod their heads in confirmation.

"Yeah, you can introduce me to your Fellowship if you like, but please know that I'll be with Grayson." She also said. But the words left her, she also thought that maybe it was too hasty. Maybe the raccoon didn't want to have her around. She should probably ask him that first.

"Alright, we'll do that later." The oldest mammoth only said.

"Ok." With that, Coco collected herself again before she decided to go over to Grayson.

"Heh. What a funny girl. A mysterious one, she is." The weasel looked after her with crossed paws and leaned his back against the scaly colleague.

"I wouldn't laugh at the girl." Gavin said, because she was simply raised differently. Admittedly, she reminded him a little of Roger when he was little. She is just more fluent.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The weasel didn't really ask anyone and laughed.

"What are you laughing about? Something funny? Something you want to share with everyone?" The big monkey, the smaller one, and Buck haunted a lot of stuff. He now wore a clown outfit with colored fur makeup and a leafy jester's crown.

"What? Are you speaking to me? What? I'm funny now? I'm a funny guy because I'm dressed like a clown? I suppose you thought I shouldn't have a PEANUT GUN EITHER!" He also pulled a wooden six shooting peanut gun out of nowhere.

"And this conversation's over." Manny declared for himself and decided to check on Peaches and Ellie. He also missed Diego in this round. His buddy was probably still busy taking care of his wife.

"Get back to us when you're done 'clowning' around." The pirate shook his head, too, because he had no time for such stuff. So the Dakotarpator and Gutt let Weasel stand alone, but this had no problem with that, because he also needed a few moments for himself.

* * *

The night quickly fell on our heroes. Some went to sleep to have a lot of energy for the next day because they didn't really know what to expect. Others stayed up and kept their new comrades a little company. Four animals decided to use the time for a little double togetherness.

"I didn't think a kiss from a Raptor felt so good." Katie whispered to her dino, who was snuggling close to him. However, she remained cautious because this was new territory for her.

"A shocker, huh?" Roger returned at the same volume.

"We did a good job at Mammal's Crown, guys." Peaches interrupted the two who were sitting next to them and cuddled with their husband.

"Including you two, sharp-eyes." Julian added a compliment. The dino felt a little proud of the words.

"Thanks, Jul." The scaly one tried to answer casually. As best as you could if you were completely nervous because such a pretty girl really wanted to be so close to you.

"Maybe we can go on a date while we are in Olympus." The bright mammoth suggested a little nervously. Before other things could be exchanged quietly, someone else interrupted them loudly.

"Peaches, there you are! I've been looking for you! " It came from Gertie almost like a complaint that she had to search at all.

"What's wrong?" The meant mammoth didn't try to sigh, because she had the strong feeling that romance with her husband is now over.

"Louis asked me out on a date, on this very ship." Stated the female Dakotaraptor.

"Nice." It came from the men here almost simultaneously. Julian knew that it was worth giving a few tips to his Prickly-Bro.

"But you already know that it is not your first date. So why so excited?" Katie had seen through the scaly friend. Because Ethan always tried to cover up nervousness with nonchalance.

"No big reason. Well.. I would like to try out make-up." The Dino lady whispered the last sentence more to Peaches. This saw that it was not easy for Gertie to ask. So she didn't make the whole thing any more uncomfortable for the other, who was playing tense with her claws.

"We can handle this. Right, Katie?" The bright mammoth nodded in agreement.

"You two boys stay here. Don't worry Julian! I'll be right back, sweetie!" Peaches promised and pushed the Raptor behind some giant sea shells while Katie was already taking care of getting the makeup.

Gertie didn't know why she was using this situation to endure something like that. But she always found the mammoth girls and other animals a little pretty with the color on their faces. But she never wanted to admit that out loud, because her father raised her to the extreme and probably never would have thought that she might also be interested in something like that. In her early teens, she wanted to ask prettier girls about it, but they just made fun of her. That's why she started to beat others until no one in their area dared to speak to her and somehow she just hung out with Roger.

"Hey, relax. It's okay." The peach-colored mammoth calmed her and placed her trunk shortly on the dinosaur's shoulder.

"If you don't like it, we can always wipe it off." Katie said encouragingly.

"It's just that... My dad was never really big on makeup tips. Heck, he doesn't do makeup at all. I don't even know if he knows there is such a thing." And Gertie meant it very seriously, because she found out that her old man had no idea about many things since they are up here. Since spending time with Louis, she has also learned a lot. But she didn't resent her father either, because he certainly didn't know it any other way.

"We can do it." Even if I had always just worked on animals with fur before, Peaches then thought more for herself. But she didn't want to let her scaly friend down when she dared to ask.

"Your father also seems a little ... difficult." The Dakotaraptor tried to find the right words for the grouchy pachyderm without offending the mammoth next to her.

"I already know what you mean. Back when I was a teenager, he got worse. You can ask Louis, he also had to endure his moods. Today I am older and have learned that he was really only afraid that something would happen to me. My mother once jokingly said that I should be glad that she was still there, otherwise I would have had to grow up alone in a cave."

"Now that you mention it, I can imagine that." Katie said with a smile as she mixed the color for the eyes.

"Your problem was probably that you are an only child. My father is... was a single man with two children." Gertie unwantedly thought of the pirate kangaroo again. Would she be able to spend more time with her now? Did she even want to talk to her children? But she tried to suppress these thoughts again, because she also remembered that Chronos let her mother rise again. Didn't that mean Raz found death before? Brooke said that this llama was only transported from one place to another. But she also heard that the guy is over four hundred years old. So what should she still believe?

That's why she wanted to distract the molehog with love stuff, because he always knew when she was worried about something. Maybe she wanted to make a little change for herself.

"I actually just want to make him proud. In our world he was always so angry when we disappointed him. And he doesn't understand some things... Yeah, he's my dad. So I know he loves me and Roger. But he has to learn that I…Louis ... You know ... Anyway, he has to accept that we are starting our own lives now." The other two mammoths understood her completely. Peaches now believed even more that Gavin and her father weren't that different. Even if Uncle Diego often said the opposite. Maybe her mother was right and the saber tooth was indeed a little jealous. It makes no sense to wear down your brain now, because her work was finished.

"So that's it. Look at you." Announced the darker mammoth happily because she was pretty satisfied with her skill.

"Are we done already?" Gertie wanted to know, irritated, because she could swear the mammoths need always longer for this. Before she could bring anything out, an icy mirror was pushed in front of her face. Her beak opened when she saw her picture, but no sound came out of her. Behind the raptor, the mammoths looked at each other with a short nod, but as more time passed and the dino still didn't say anything, they were worried.

"We said you could wash it off if you didn't like it." Katie tried to save the situation.

"You know, it's actually the first time that I..." But Peaches didn't finish with her apology, when the scaly woman turned around and looked at them piercingly. Both mammoths immediately took a step back, because friend or not, Gertie could still be scary.

"I look bluntly darn awesome, girls." The female dino suddenly rejoiced and showed her sharp teeth when grinning, which strangely harmonized well with the make-up. Peaches hadn't thought of it before. She had to ask herself again how her prickly friend managed to ignore the teeth, because even she had respect for the things and she was so much bigger than Louis. Exactly this animal now came up behind the women.

"The guys over there said that you... that you... Wow." The molehog could only stare at his girlfriend while he slowly grinned.

"That we wow? That sounds like Julian." Ascertained the blonde mammoth teasingly and got a slight knock in the side from Peaches. The girls knew that their work was done here and retired without further words, because their loved ones were still waiting.

"I...I...I hope you like... stargazing." It fell bumpy from Louis snout and he felt so stupid again because he knew that sooner or later his girlfriend would ask the other woman about makeup. She always hinted this, but he couldn't take up the topic himself, because he didn't want her to be uncomfortable or something, because she likes to play the superior and strong one.

"So. You stutter as again." Gertie recognized and actually wanted to find his reaction cute, but another part of her resisted it.  
Oh no! I did something wrong, the spiky thought nervously, for the look and tone of the Dakotaraptor already promised rejection. He quickly tried to think what might be wrong. She walked away out onto the deck and let him stand there. But Louis had imagined the evening to be very different.

"Now wait!" He called and ran after her. Of course, they were seen by some animals, but they only left comments about how beautiful the scaly animal looked now. Maybe in the dim light they all didn't see that his girlfriend was angry.

"Try harder, small fry!" Grinned Squint from the corner, because the molehog did not notice him before, when they both stopped. The rabbit laughed a little maliciously and then went away because he didn't feel like romantic feuds. At least not this evening.

"I will!" Louis called confidently after the guy before turning to his girl.

"Come on, Gertie. You can talk to me." There was a short silence and the larger one sighed.

"Maybe that sounds really stupid. But do you find me prettier like this?" At the same time she was a coward and didn't even look him in the face. Yes, she looked really amazing with the color on her face. But if her boyfriend only finds her beautiful with it, she doesn't want to apply it anymore.

"Gertrude." She turned her head sharply in his direction, because the name always got her attention.

"You know this stuff makes no difference whether I l..like you." The smaller man pointed to her face to underline his sentence. At the same time, he felt so stupid because he was an adult and could not utter the word love again.

"It just left you speechless." Louis could hardly deny that. Even now he had to restrain himself not to stare too much.

"Yes. You could have really warned me. I mean everyone back there looked at you and.."

"I don't care. I wanted to do it for you." Then he gave her a certain look.

"All right. Yes, I admit, I just wanted to try it out. And I look very damn cool. Understood?!" If the female raptor didn't know what to do, she did what she always did best. Get snappy.

"It wasn't that difficult." He put a paw to her side. She pouted a little, but she still picked him up. Even if the molehog had spines, Gertie liked it because its fur tickled her scaly skin.

"You don't have to get any prettier for me, I already belong to you." He whispered to her and then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he waited for her to let him down again. But the moment didn't come.

"Your father is sitting somewhere over there and watching us." Louis remarked, because luckily he couldn't see Gavin's eyes in the dark, but somehow he could feel them.

"Do we want to do something indecent here?" The dinosaur teased him and hugged his body a little more.

"You grab my butt here, but I'm the indecent." Both laughed softly at themselves, but they stayed close together as they finally began to admire the stars.

* * *

Elsewhere on the ship, Julian found someone else to chat with. Roger had a cozy corner with his girlfriend and his wife wanted to bring them something to drink. Certainly because she also noticed that his throat dries up so quickly. She was so attentive, the mammoth thought, and it never occurred to him that he was chattering here more at sea because of all the new animals.

"So yeah, I was thinking after this, you know which location I want to go to? Some nice warm jungles. " He said dreamily to Flynn.

"Really? I want to see what it's like on the tip of an iceberg. I know that the captain always tell us to avoid them, but I want to see if they are not that bad." Uttered the elephant seal, who liked to talk to the new companions. Even if Gutt said he shouldn't overdo the friendliness. Oh yes, the good captain has known him for a long time and knows that he can chase away the animals with his scatterbrained bliss and warned him about it.

"Well, we'll see about that, my friend."

"Okay, I'm going to meet up with Dobson. Bye Julian." Then said the sea creature, because he already saw his buddy strutting in this direction.

"Okay, later sealer dealer." The mammoth agreed, because his wife finally showed up with the drinks.

"Beaches."

"Hello Flynn. I'm actually called Peaches." She greeted the elephant seal nicely as it passed her. Well, more hopped.

"No, I was just thinking of beautiful sandy beaches." The other explained.

"Oh, ok. Go on." She said and then she was alone with her husband. Peaches handed him the drink in a coconut shell.

"Hey babe. I just had a blast talking to sealer dealer." The male mammoth explained to her and took a sip with his trunk. She just smiled at these nicknames because she found it kind of charming.

"About what?"

"Where to go for vacation once this whole mess is cleaned up. Just me and him, while you and Raz spend some time together." Peaches thought that the named pirate would like to spend some time with someone else first, but didn't question it now. Besides, she doesn't want to destroy her husband's idea by making him think that after the whole thing they might not be able to do anything with their new allies.

"Where are you two going?"

"I wanted to go to some nice warm jungles, while Flynn wanted to go on some freezing cold icebergs. He said Gutt always tell his crew to avoid them, but Flynn wants to see if they are not that bad."

"That sounds really interesting, babe."

"I know." Julian already imagined the great jungle adventure. Everything that wants to be found and researched and only by him. It will be so spectacular crass.

"Well, I see you guys are enjoying yourselves. Living a little while we are on the voyage to Olympus." A third voice interfered in their conversation. It was the heroic raccoon who came to them with Coco in tow.

"Which is thirty three days." The male mammoth meant, because he had remembered it exactly.

"Exactly." Grayson nodded.

"Hello again, Coco." Peaches greeted the other woman, who was rather reserved. The others' hair was so curly that she could barely see her eyes. Certainly also because the head hung a little shyly lower.

"Hello. So I heard Louis is dating Gertie." Coco tried it with smalltalk. Also because she saw the two earlier.

"Yeah. I couldn't really believe it at the beginning, but they really like each other."

"Prickly-Bro and Scaly-Galy make a great couple. I can tell ya that much." Because Julian was completely convinced of it. The fourth in the group kept his mouth shut until the others noticed. He wasn't exactly staring back and forth between the married mammoths and Coco. Would Coco and I be a great couple too, he actually thought.

"Grayson, you okay?" Peaches started to worry because the smaller one had only been talking since they met him.

"Oh, positive." Replied the streaked man, who was not quite listening.

"You were smiling at Coco. Grayson, do you love her?" Julian asked with a grin.

"Honey, he smiled at other animals today. Does he love everyone too?" The peach-colored mammoth interrupted her husband's talk, while the fluffy mammoth in the background became embarrassed by the words.

"Just an idea." The bigger guy in the group, just thought that.

"What? Me and her? Hmm.. I don't know, Coco, what do you think? " The raccoon turned to the nervous animal.

"No, no way like that's gonna happen!" She said as if it were completely absurd, but thought internally that it might work.

"Okay then that would clear it up." Julian said and his wife made him leave the two alone.

Then there was silence between the shy mammoth and the daring raccoon

"Finally, a night to ourselves." Grayson tried to say something because the peace was uncomfortable. Even for him.

"Yeah."

"Are you two canoodling?" Rudy's head suddenly appeared between them.

"None of your business!" Both replied very synchronously.

"Alright then. What just checking." Came it from the giant dino before he left the two alone again.

"What's his problem? He's such a protective baryonyx." Grayson acted annoyed to distract himself from other things.

"I know, huh?" Coco agreed.

"And since we spoke together… I overheard Roger and Katie speaking about psychic connection. He said if you speak together, you'll know who your true partner is."

"That's amazing!" The mammoth said joyfully, because they did so and that means that they now belong together. Forever.

* * *

When you're busy, time goes by faster. Another couple noticed that too.

"Who would've thought that there are so many stars in the sky?" Gertie didn't really ask anyone the question as she continued to look up at the sky. There was no such thing in her old home.

"Yeah." Her prickly boyfriend replied with a satisfied sigh.

"You're my little rising sun." The dino gave out.

"You're my big shining moon." He said a little teasingly.

"I love you, Louis."

"I love you too, Gertie." They look a little shy before forgetting everything around and kissing. Gradually they got practice on the beak-to-snout thing.

Three mammoths and a Dakotaraptor watched the whole thing. So not on purpose, because they actually wanted to tell the two something.

"Awww..isn't that cute." Then the female raptor and the molehog separated again.

"Don't you have anything better to do?!" Gertie complained embarrassed because she didn't like that at all. After all, they weren't a show.

"Well, when you're done smooching, we should all go to sleep slowly. We can't stay awake through the whole night." Peaches noticed that she sounded almost like her father, but she was getting tired.

"Oh, is this the cuddle corner for the younger category?" Teddy asked, who had fairly disheveled fur and was more carried by his sloth lady.

"I do not care. The children have to go to bed now. The adults can play more." Gladys announced and made herself comfortable with her rabbit.  
Before anyone could say or do anything about it, they all heard a loud bang.

"What was that?" Julian wanted to know startled and looked around.

"I sense ... loud thumping noises coming from inside." Explained Elric, who appeared abruptly next to them. Just like Grayson.

"That doesn't sound good. Let's check it out!" With that, the raccoon ran in, followed by the others who weren't too big to go inside.

"Is something in here? Hello?" Ethan shouted into the darkness because he saw nothing but his friends next to him. He should have taken a torch beforehand, he thought. But it was too late because a strange voice suddenly announced itself.

"Who dares intrude upon.." The speaker paused dramatically.

"The KING! OF! THE SPIDERS?!" It was hissed twice and a spider crawled to the surface.

"Kingsley?" The weasel with the eye patch jostled forward in the crowd when he recognized the voice.

"Buckminster?" The eight-legged insect asked suspiciously.

"King!"

"Buck!" The two immediately greeted each other with a paw-to-leg shake.

"Long time no see, mate! Did ya miss me?" Wanted to know the weasel and didn't explain to his friends why he was talking to an insect.

"Why yes, I did. In fact, I've been waiting for you and the Fellowship to arrive. It was a long time before I.." Peaches and Gertie just took the new little one and cuddled it.

"Little spider!" The peach-colored mammoth emitted in a high tone.

"Who are these monsters? Why are they holding onto me?!" The spider screamed and looked helplessly at Buck as he was pushed from fur to scales.

"Not to worry, mate. They're Peaches and Gertie. Daughters of Manny and Gavin and members of the Fellowship. They're hugging ya." The weasel believed that everything was cleared up and now the spider was also showered with kisses.

"Little cutie pie." The Dakotaraptor said and Louis looked over jealously.

"Foolish mammoth and dino girl. I'M NOT YOUR CUTIE PIE!" King scolded and was handed back to the larger animal.

"Yes, you are."

"Cute little spider." King crawled down on Peaches leg.

"I know. But enough is enough." He made his view clear.

"A little spider, huh?" Julian didn't find that earth-shattering now.

"The King of Spiders, my friend. The King of Spiders." The insect emphasized its title.

"How about we just call you King instead?" Said the molehog and hoped that the newcomer didn't know that he often ate his peers.

"Buck always uses that. So sure."

"So a charismatic raccoon, a singing weasel, a killer weasel, a hippie weasel and now a little spider who is a self proclaimed king of spiders? Geez, how much more allies do this fellowship get or need? When this is all over, remind me to take a vacation." Manfred wished he was that far, because he had enough of all this nonsense.

"Just go with it. The little spider seems like a funny little guy. Especially when he gets all dramatic." Ellie spoke up and tried to appease her husband.

"Heheh, even some kings have soft spots. But he can be serious, a lot." Diego said.

"I don't know. King maybe a bit deluded." Said Shira.

"I heard that. You two, big cats, you will help me make my bed." The insect crawled between the two.

"Or I can crush you under my paw. You're not the first spider I've encountered." Because the tigress let nobody order her around.

"It's okay. I got this." Her husband calmed her down.

"You wouldn't.." Kings eyes widened.

"I would." And the saber tooth meant seriousness. There was a long silence and stares, until King and Diego laughed.

"Why would you step on me? That would be so dumb. Besides, if I get stepped on, I always come back." It came from the spider laughing.

"It was only a little threat." Diego explained.

"I don't think that was little." The eight-legged man was a little snapped because he didn't look that small.

"I'm not going to try and do that to you."

"Is it just me or are the two laughing?" Manny wanted to know as if it wasn't obvious.

"I wouldn't worry about that, my friend. But since it's getting so late, we should get some rest." The raccoon stepped in and the mammoth agreed before finally announcing the rest to go to sleep. So they did, because some yawns were already heard.

Unfortunately the group didn't get far before they heard another loud boom on the deck. So they all ran back there.

"Incoming, Fellowship!" Roared another unknown, but the oldest mammoth already felt that this guy had to do with Chronos because of the look.

"Oh, what now?" Because he just wanted to keep calm for the night.

"I think that's .." But Sid couldn't finish his sentence.

"General Mono!" Grayson called louder and jumped to the new enemy.

"I will crush you, puny heroes!" Announced the enemy monkey and Gutt thought for himself that he would never walk around like that. Gold yes, the rest just looks shabby.

"We're not really puny! We're pretty big for our species!" Diego countered aggressively.

"Yeah, you're the one who's puny! There's only thirty eight of us and only one of you!" Because Louis had actually counted again.

"You're outnumbered!" Exclaimed the pirate captain amused.

"You're outranked!" The general simply stated.

"We are willing to negotiate!" Suggested the spider.

"Not a good time, King!" You could hear most of the animals saying.

"Enough of this, I'll smash you all into mush!" Mono interfered angrily, because these beings probably didn't know who they were dealing with.

"We'll see about that!" And Ethan bravely stepped forward again.

"Sid, I just remembered something!"

"What, Grayson?" Because now the sloth did not find the right time for games. He had asked yesterday and the striped one only remembered it at the worst moment.

"You said you were the Fire King, right?"

"I see. Yeah.. Wait how do you know? " Sid no longer knew if he had said that to the raccoon.

"Unimportant. Here I prepared the Fire King outfit, just for you." Grayson showed him a crown, a cape and robes. Everything is leafy and the colors white and red.

"Wow." The otherwise so lazy animal could only be amazed that such a great outfit was made for him. Before he could say anything else, his grandmother closed his mouth.

"So what if my grandson has some flashy outfit? That makes no difference." The lilac sloth complained because they were all having more important problems.

"All will be explained later." The raccoon promised with his heroic grin. But Gladys wasn't lulled by it.

"He's right. I'll be back for you." The turquoise rabbit said smiling and gave her a short kiss on the mouth.

"Good luck, teddy bear." She wished him and gave him a little pat on the butt when the 'bear' turned away.  
In the meantime, the youngest sloth already tried his outfit on and prepared some torches with some nearby sticks.

"Whoa, you look nice, Sid." The mammoth mother gave the shorter one a real compliment.

"I tried." The robe wearer wanted to come across cool.

"Come on, we have to fight Mono." Manfred thought they had wasted enough time. It's kind of nice that her new enemy seemed so friendly to wait for them. And apparently filing his nails.

"Yeah, I'll stay back here, man!" One of the other weasels spoke up again, because he wanted to be in the front again. Until now, he has always had to make do with a mammoth that was babysitting him. He really didn't need that.

"I accept his challenge." Tara had her bony ax ready, she was getting bored on the ship and offered Diego to get rid of one of the superfluous saber-toothed tigers, who said no, but she knew he meant yes.

"Ah! A shield-maiden! About to go to sleep so soon? How about a 'little dance'?" The monkey who was sent by Chronos explained amused, because how could such a puny thing do something as powerful as it did. Then he took out his warhammer so that this weasel could see what a real weapon was.

"What are we waiting for or do you need a break after the action?" Tara wanted to know, because nothing else happened.

"Shield-maiden?" Murmur started in the group behind her.

"I'll explain later!" Because now she had no time for big explanations.

"I hate it when animals say 'I'll explain later'. Why not now?" Probably because Sid later forgot to have things explained to him.

"We can hash this out later. We've got a giant ape to fight! No offense, Gutt." Grayson wanted to say what's more important, but he didn't want to offend any of his new colleagues.

"Non taken." The monkey mentioned shrugged, because it was worse insulted at sea.

Led by Grayson, some animals began to surround their new enemy. Gutt naturally did not miss the fun and immediately took part.

"I'll just stay out of the fight. Giant hammers can be very dangerous to my life." Scrat trembled with fear on Ellie's leg.

"Aww, Scrat..." The mammoth held him with her trunk and nuzzles him.

"Don't worry, I got you." With that she put him on her head.

"What about Brooke?" The squirrel wanted to know.

"I'm with you." The beautiful sloth appeared next to the two of them.

"Guess we'll just sit back and enjoy the show." Roger did not find himself cowardly if too many were involved in the game already.

"Heheheh..." Mono laughed nastily as his weapon chose the first victim.

"Umm... is that hammer... face staring at me?" And the molehog regretted that he wanted to be brave. The general raised his hammer up.

"Dodge!" Sid shouted the answer to the attack and the twenty mammals dodged the first hammer attack as it was slammed down.

"Second smash, to the side!" Warned Ethan because he saw the next attack coming. He was also beginning to find himself really good at this heroic thing.  
Mono smashed his hammer down, but missed. Then tried to beat Teddy, Louis, Grayson, Tara, Buck and Sid several times because they were in a good line. But he didn't even manage to graze the slow animal. They were either too fast or helped each other.

"That was too close." The raccoon noted dramatically, even though the hammer didn't even get anywhere near it.

"Way too close!" Sid was more likely to complain, but Peaches was so friendly and pulled his foot away from her opponent's weapon in time.

"Stand still, you squirmy worms!" The enemy monkey was slowly losing patience.

"No!" Almost everyone called back at the same time, as if they were going to lose here. Well, their life. Mono roared, jumped up and is about to hit animals with his hammer, but misses three times. Then Manfred recognized his chance and hit the guy with the trunk. Coco and the pirate captain gave another hit, which made the enemy groan.

"Hit him! Hit him, now!" Manny loudly announced what everyone should do. So they did it with everything they've got. The mammoths with their trunks. Except Julian, who had to use his butt strangely. Grayson with his conch shell bo staff. The saber-toothed tigers scratch everything bloody with their claws. Gutt dual wields sawfish swords. The pirate rabbit and the kangaroo also waved their knives around. The two Dakotaraptors attacked from above, if possible, in the mess. Tara of course used her sweet weapon and Sid owned his torches as weapons. That left Teddy, Buck and Louis, who had decided to throw stones. Flynn jumped into the circle before, but wasn't sure what to do. Do you wait until it's your turn to strike or do you just do it, he thought as he continued to watch the others.

But it wasn't long before the first animals ran out of breath. The enemy immediately took advantage of this to take a breath. He quickly got up and jumped back to his original spot.

"Tinker Toys, come aboard!" He ordered the metal minions to help him. The things also appeared immediately by the Sands of Time."Grayson, are those the Tinker Toys you told us about at your cave home?" The oldest mammoth yelped in fear.

"One eyed robots. Big, medium and small sizes. Sharp claws that can cut any of us to ribbons." The raccoon apparently found the time to explain the whole thing precisely, as if they had not just landed in a higher danger level.

"Minions of Chronos, I presume?" Gavin asked, because he couldn't remember exactly.

"Oh yeah, presumed correctly, my scaly friend." Grayson had bothered to explain everything in his cave, and now he wondered if anyone was listening. Otherwise he wouldn't have to say everything twice and three times.

"Tinker Toys, destroy the Fellowship!" Momo called to his entourage, but he didn't pay attention to his right side. Gertie took advantage of this and rammed the guy to the ground again.

"Don't mess with the team!"

"Ugh! Damn, Dakotaraptor! Get away, you annoying, buzzing fly!" With this, the general struck out with his hammer so quickly that she could no longer avoid it and was thrown through the air.

"Gavin, we have to catch her!" The molehog called to the dino, who was quick to reduce his daughter's fall. Raz also helped because she wanted to spend time with her children after this disaster. That's why she'll make sure they're still alive. The young Raptor lady landed in safe wings and paws.

"Uh.." Everything turned a little for the dino.

"Hold on, Gertie." Because the spiky one saw that the blow was a little hard on her.

"Stay with us, mate!" Said the pirate, probably stroking her daughter's head for the first time.

"Gertrude, are you okay ?!" Asked the father worried.

Mono laughed at that, puts down his hammer and let some Tinker Toys cheer for him. At first it was only one, but the whole became more and more as if it infected the little things. Soon everyone was paying homage to their leader.

"Yes, yes! Cheer for me, my metallic friends!" Chrono's subordinate laughed and felt powerful. A Tinker Toys suddenly stopped cheering and looked at Shira.

"She's mine." The little man with the metallic voice said. Sid stepped on the tiny Tinker Toy and crushed it.

"That's for Gertie!" He said heroic, because the little something was easier to destroy than the monkey up front in the golden stuff. A medium sized toy was about to charge at Teddy, but he kicked it targeted off the ship.

A larger metal soldier was about to destroy Buck, but the weasel got on it. The Tinker Toy tried to hit him, but missed every time and actually damaged itself. The articulated animal used his knife to pop off the head and went inside it. He whistled and motioned to come and get him. Of course the thing couldn't think clearly and rammed its right claw inside itself. But it grabbed its heart out instead of Buck. Cleverly he jumped out and the big toy fell motionless into the water. Other soldiers were also thrown into the water by the others. Mono was very annoyed, of course.

"You may have defeated some of my Tinker Toys ... but... can you dodge...THIS ?!" He griped his hammer with two hands, spins his hammer around, like a mallet in a carnival game where the player hits the bell and smashed it down upon the twenty animals. Unexpectedly the hammer let out some red magic that pushed the fighters into the water. Everyone started screaming in fear.

"Oopsies, Mono wins again! See you later, fools!" The general used the Sands of Time to teleport himself back to Chronos' Keep.

"Oh no. Come on, pea brain, let's get them out." Cretaceous said to his fishy friend.

"D'uh, okay." Maelstrom replied, because they had no other choice. So they swam down to the water and got the animals out of the water.

"What was that?!" Buck wanted to know dripping wet before shaking himself.

"We had him!" Complained Diego and was twice as angry because he ended up in the water.

"I know, huh?! He just played his own trump card on that last minute!" Ethan also found it ugly that his hairstyle was ruined.

"No fair!" To relieve anger, the pirate rabbit poked his knife in the air.

"Mark my words, mono; we will win next time!" The raccoon scolded with his fist raised and wrung out his tail.

"Beaten by a giant ape with a hammer! How humiliating!" The Sid actually found it a pity that his beautiful costume was damaged. His girlfriend will surely help him patch it up.

"Let's face it, we're dead." It came hastily from Tara, because her weapon was difficult to hold in the water.

"Definitely dead." Teddy added, thinking that it would be easier. Like their first opponent.

"We're not dead. Yet." Grayson tried to cheer up the gang.

"Grayson, look at us. We're weak against Mono." Coco made it worse.

"Manny! Peaches! Julian! Are you okay?!" The mammoth mother ran to her relatives to check whether everyone was really well. But they seemed to have got away unscathed.

"Sidney!" The called man turned when he heard his angel's beautiful voice. The female sloth ran over to him and checked him for any injuries. Then she kissed his lips and hugged him, thanks that he was not injured.

"When you went into the water, I thought something serious could happen. You're not a good swimmer, darling."

"I know. I didn't want to make a belly splash on purpose." Sid explained as he pressed his beauty to himself.  
The saber-toothed tigers were also mixed up quite a bit, by throwing them into the cold water.

"Uh... my head..." Diego felt a slight headache and hoped he wasn't banged against something.

"Cats ...hate...WATER!" Meant the only tigress here.

"Soto! Thank God! We thought you drowned!" Zeke was happy to see his boss up.

"Fight like that again and you're as good as dead." Lenny shook a few more times because of water in his ears.

"Sorry, Manny, we tried our best." Oscar looked more at Buddy because his eyes were still watery and the mammoths all looked the same. Soto turned the confused saber tooth in the right direction.

"It's fine. We'll just have to train much harder." Manfred was sure that they could make it and hated that his fur was now fluffing up so strangely.

"How did that fight go, sweetie?" There was slight sarcasm from Gladys because she could watch the disaster.

"I'm cold. I'm wet and I have a fish on my head. I just go to bed. " The turquoise rabbit said depressed and a fish was stuck in one of his long ears. He pulled it out and then strode away.

"Teddy! Wait for me!" The sloth lady immediately ran after him to comfort her man.  
The rest of the members of the Brat Pack, as well as Scrat and Roger, approached Louis, Ethan, Raz and the other Dakotaraptors.

"Dang, that was bad." Steffie said it again as if she could do everything better.

"Are you okay guys?" The squirrel wanted to know how the animals were doing.

"That fight was pretty bad."

"It is still, Buddy. To see it realistically, the struggle will continue soon." Katie explained even if she didn't like it herself.

"We'll definitely get him next time." Roger tried to see the whole thing optimistically.

"Hopefully, otherwise it looks dark here." Meghan also commented as if she wasn't hanging in there. The young Raptor and the blond mammoth leaned against each other and gave each other support.

"Aww, that's just cheesy. Get a room on the ship." That was not how Albert imagined the trip. Lots of old animals doing romantic stuff. He thought that it was going to be more awesome.

"Yeah, we're just wet. We should all go to sleep at last. Separated!" Gavin emphasized the last word again for his children.

"Yeah, your concerns are touching guys." Added the molehog and tried to ignore the old dino. As if he had something like that in mind now, whatever Gavin thought.

"Very moving." Ehan thought so too.

"But that ended poorly." Gertie was annoyed by the defeat.

"No kiddin '." Raz could understand that.

"I can't believe a monkey like that could beat me!" Gutt already swore revenge plans. In the old days, that wouldn't have happened to him. He was certain that this Chronos made them weaker.

"Aww, damn me." Squint threw his knife down, puts his paws on his hips and looked down at his knife. The elephant seal wailed to himself.

"It's okay, Flynn. You'll alvays train before Mono's next arrival." Gupta comforted the taller one.

"It's too unbearable!" The other continued crying.

"What should we do?" Coco seemed so helpless and that could just have ended badly for all of them. All travelers turned to Grayson with concerned looks.

"For now, we'll have to train for Mono's upcoming arrival." The striped man explained, asking himself why he hadn't thought of it before.

"You know what? He's right. I'm done brass around. Forget about sleeping in, I'm training." Even Sid wanted to do that and that said a lot.

"Whoa, I never seen this side of you before, are you okay?" Manny was a little worried about his buddy.

"No, Mono may have bested us, but we will not lose the war. I'm going to better myself."

"Look, Sid, I get that you want vengeance against Mono and train so hard, but don't overthink and overdo it." Diego just wanted to be helpful because they all knew what it looked like when the male sloth overdid it.

"But I had to, Mono got a point on the board for the bad guys. Fellowship - two, chronos - one." Chattered Sid continues to convince.

"Sidney. You're overreacting. You know you always love sleeping in." Ellie laughed at that. Unbelieving that the lazybones would make it.

"I know, but thanks to Mono, now I don't."

"Sid, I don't understand." The beautiful sloth lady was confused.

"It's just like you said in the morning in the middle of the night, Brooke, we can't sleep in all day." All animals present knew when Sid said 'We' was really only meant for him, because his girlfriend always got up pretty early.

Brooke thought back at that moment. Her boyfriend rumbled his eyes wearily.

"Why are you being so load? You just woke up Scrat."

"I just got back from yoga and wanted to cuddle a little more with you. Then he looked so cute on his big acorn. But Manny is right. we can't lie around here all day. So thank you for waking me up, my sweet little guy." So she gave her dream man a kiss and Scrat wearily nodded.

"Oh, right." With that Brooke came back to the here and now.

"See?"

"Well, actually I've always tried to wake you up earlier. But you look so peacefully beautiful when you sleep, I couldn't bring myself to do it." She admitted and some animals in the background looked at each other when choosing the words. Because Sid looked after everything when he sleeps, just not beautiful.

"OK. There we go. Now let's head to sleep before any Tinker Toys shows up and my night gets worse." The male sloth ended the subject.

"Great idea, Sidney. Let's head to sleep, we'll train tomorrow and try again when Mono returns." Grayson agreed. Everyone else thought it was a good idea.

"This sucks, big time." Steffie groaned annoyed on the way to the sleeping place. She also felt that her boyfriend was walking away from her on the trip. She thought it was manly that he now showed so much courage, but he had almost only fighting in mind.

"When can I be in the fight?" The blonde said, although Katie wasn't really keen on it.

"Whenever we are ready." Answered her Dino friend and snuggled up to her.

"Hey Meghan. Sweet girl, may I.." Albert suddenly arrived cool, but a trunk closed his mouth and pushed him back.

"Not gonna happen, kid." With that the dark brown mammoth strutted past him and left him here.

"Aww ..." Sniffed the young weasel disappointed and also made his way to bed.

* * *

The next morning, someone with eight legs played loudly on their drums.

"Evil never sleeps and neither should you all!" King shouted rhythmically to the beat. Some Fellowship animals covered their ears by the loud noise.

"If you want to defeat Chronos, we have to train!" The spider roared on and some wondered how such a small insect could be so loud. Simple, because Eddie held a leaf megaphone in front of his face and Crash also drummed violently. Finally they could be loud early for a good reason. Not that they need one.

"Okay, okay, your littleness. We're up. But instead of drumming, can you at least give us a loud hiss next time while we are resting?" Manny sighed and moved up.

"You call that rest? I think my side has more lumps than my bed." Ethan stretched and thought he had hardly slept.

"I know that today's training might not be so bad, since Mono defeated us, we should be able to have our resolves stiffened." Commented Squint looking very fit.

"What's our training for today, guys?" The turquoise rabbit inquired, who of course had no problem with being early up at his age.

"Don't know." Gutt replied and he was still wondering how Teddy could make his fur glow like this. The guy wore the right signal color on his body.

"Guys, I think it's time for breakfast first." Manfred thought that was the most important meal of the day.

* * *

A short time later, inside the Pathfinder's own dining room, the Fellowship is at the table that was long enough for everyone. The Herd, Albert, Tara, the Brat Pack, the pirate Crew, Elric and King are eating fruits. Shangri Llama sipped some coconut water. The Saber Pack and Rudy looked at a shell-like crate that said 'Dead Ox - Do Not Eat' and they just secretly ate the stuff. Cretaceous and Maelstrom nibbled some tiny fish and Grayson was eating nuts, because of the proteins. When the new in addition came saber-toothed tiger and the oversized dino were eating the dead ox and the racoon nibbled some nuts, they were given deadpanned looks by Diego, Shira, Buck and Scrat.

"How do you guys even live with yourselves at night?" All four wanted to know almost at the same time.

"Don't go blaming us for our predatory adolescences!" Lenny said a little gruffly.

"I'm a carnivore. What did you expect, you drongos?" Rudy thought that they could all be happy that he wasn't gnawing on them.

"I'm just eating some walnuts, nothing more." Grayson, however, dipped them in honey beforehand so that they taste even better.

"Shira, I can't believe we actually spoke on the same time again." The squirrel said to the big cat.

"Hey, let's tease Diego by us kissing." Suggested the tigress because she was bored.

"But you're married and Diego would eat me."

"Nonsense. Don't worry, you won't be killed. We're on the same team."

"Okay, you know what I like about psychic connections sometimes?"

"Romantic teasing?" Because she didn't know what he was talking about.

"No! We always give into temptation. Let's tease you husband." And Scrat jumped onto Shira's muzzle and kissed her lips. At first she wanted to keep it short, but then it started to feel good. Shira pushed him to the ground and more against him. They rolled under the table, something another saber tooth noticed.

"Okay, if you two have done that 'psychic connection' thing again. I think you two are teasing me lovingly still." Diego laughed and then looked over to King, who was piled with fruits.

"They're not doing it on purpose, are they, King?"

"What? Hmm? Oh yeah, no." The insect answered casually and wasn't even looking there.

"Figures." And with that the two continued to eat in peace while the couple rolled around kissing under the table.

"Wow." Scrat said out of breath more because she stole it.

"See? Nothing happened." The tigress smiled and licked his snout.

"Hey Shira, I say we tease him no matter what he does." The two chuckled on it mischievously. Suddenly two rodents jumped under the table and grinned at the two startled animals.

"Can we join in on the action too, Scrat?" Crash asked, because he always wanted a free ticket.

"Yeah, we want in." Eddie gave the big cat a look and she smiled, showing her teeth.

"Do you have the golden acorns?" Asked the squirrel like a bouncer, because he liked the special variety and he was reluctant to share his new achievement. The brothers sensed something like that. They nodded at each other and got out the golden stuff.

"Great. Now, let the good things wander into my paws." Scrat demanded greedily and only had the acorns in his eyes. The twins also took a giant leaf with pranking plans written on it out. Probably to add something to the list.

"Welcome to the team, guys." Meant the one with the bushiest tail and all four laughed now very mischievously.  
At another place at the breakfast table, they didn't notice anything of that of course, because they were busy with other things.

"Hey, meat eaters." Ethan spoke to Soto and his entourage, of course.

"Did you not read what King put on this?" He pointed with his trunk at the sign 'Dead Ox - Do Not Eat'.

"But we're sabers, we're supposed to eat meat." And then he got almost the same thoughts as the big white dinosaur. But they were all lovely and kind now. They couldn't just taste on a long, thick, and juicy trunk.

"How do you big cats sleep at night?" Peaches just shook her head and pulled her trunk back towards her when Soto stared at it drooling. It's better they don't let starve this pack, she thought.

"Like little saber cubs." Zeke laughed boisterously.

"It's not funny, Ezekiel! This is serious! " Sid admonished the saber tooth with his full name, which he heard from Brooke. She was chatting curiously with everyone on the ship already.

"I'm sorry." The tiger stopped laughing immediately.

"That's better." Gavin said now and laughed himself, while he looked at Gertie and her still boyfriend. They ate some bug skewers.

"Those bugs got what they deserve for defying their fate. The sentence - death, by getting chewed and swallowed. No where to go, nowhere to hide, little bugs. This time around; you shall die." King babbled more to himself.

"Wow, that was some kingly behavior." Tara said casually and stuffed a banana unpeeled in her mouth.

"No kidding." Ellie also tried to contribute to the conversation.

Breakfast continued for a while and everyone was chattering about this and that. Others, like Coco, just stared at a certain raccoon while eating, as if there was nothing better in the room. In her eyes he was so perfect like no one else she has ever met and she swears that he will one day belong to her. Maybe after all the stress, they can meet each other quite easily. Or in the middle of it. Just once only the two of them, she doesn't want more and she doesn't need more. Alone she will dare more and open up more and Grayson also sees something special in her.

* * *

After breakfast and cleaning up, which had to be done as well, because some of them were still eating as if they had never entered a cave before, all placed themselves in alphabetical order. The announcer raccoon wanted it that way.

"Everyone! You will assemble swiftly and silently after breakfast every morning. Anyone who acts otherwise.." With that Grayson took out his bow and arrows. He already put one in and showed again how well he could aim.

"..will answer to me." He then finished his sentence.

"Ooh, tough guy." Muttered the pirate hare to a follower or pig.

"Squint." The speaker aimed the bow at the rabbit.

Everyone took a step away, but Squint stood still and Grayson shoots the arrow at the top of the mast, who was behind the pirate.

"Thank you for volunteering. Retrieve the arrow." The raccoon ordered.

"I'll do it, pretty boy, and I'll do it with my pirate patch on." Squint walked towards the mast and was about to go up the thing, but he was interrupted by the raccoon.

"Hold on, you seemed to be missing something." He said and Tara volunteered to carrying two boulders that are anyone's strength with vine ropes wrapped around them, but ten times heavier and Grayson held them to the pirate with ease. He gives the left vine to Squint's left paw and the weight pulled Squint's left arm down immediately.

"This represents discipline." Was explained by Grayson and then tied the right vine to Squint's right paw. Of course this arm went down too.

"And this represents strength." The striped animal continued to tell, making sure everyone could see it well. Some members of the Fellowship laughed, some smiled in amusement and some remained calm and mature.

"For all of you, you'll need both to reach the arrow." The raccoon announced calmly, because he easily made it with the weights, he was sure.

"Ok, I have it. And now?"Silas wanted to know, because he thought this was silly.

"Hey! I thought I didn't have to explain that, but the job is done without flying. Understood?!" That came again emphatically from the coach Grayson. The Dakotaraptors sighed annoyed in the background.

"Calm down, guys. It's our first training, how hard could that be?" Ethan also saw the whole thing quite loosely.

"Hmm ..." Buddy just shrugged his shoulders, because since when are mammoths have been climbing masts. Peaches was the one who was raised half opossum, so why do they all have to do that.

"Oh, this is gonna be good." Diego thought it was okay because he was not climbing wood for the first time.

"Heh, can't wait to see this happening." Scrat was a master at climbing, as what should go wrong with him.

"You got this, Squint." The pirate captain cheered on his crew member, but actually he found it more funny.

"Without flying, that could be difficult." Roger realized and looked thoughtfully at the arrow that was in the mast

"I did not sign up for that." Steffie groaned loudly annoyed because she didn't feel like doing things like that. That could ruin her look so much.

But the thing couldn't start yet, when Tara stopped everyone because she could think of something else.

"Oh, and guys, before we train, Mono mentioned my title last night. Now's the time I've got to tell you all the origin of my title." The female weasel thought that now was a good time for it.

"Well, you said later. Now is later!" The youngest sloth in the group agreed.

"I know, but strong warriors can be so hard to find."

"Tell us everything, Tara. How you became like..." Manfred pointed with his trunk to her.

"..this? And just don't leave anything out." The mammoth ended his speech because he was partially glad that climbing this mast is postponed.

"Does that really have to be now?" Grayson thought they should use the day better.

"Yes." But the poor guy was loudly overruled by the others. A little offended, he sat cross-legged down.

"OK. Is everyone sitting comfortably? Good. I descended from an ancient tribe of shield-maidens, which are very far from where I live now." And she reminisced when she told the story. Everything was so long ago, but it always felt like it had only happened yesterday. Proudly she stood at an ancient arena, because this year she was finally old enough to mate. She knew all the rules by heart from her tribe. This also means that she had to marry the animal that defeats her in a duel.

Many different warriors tried that. As well as a green sloth with golden bone swords. It swung the two blades around with ease. Probably too easy. He crosses them and tried hitting her with a smile that showed teeth. But the weasel hated arrogance and sliced the opponent with her ax. More enemies came up to her, but everyone lost. Most of them also their lives. All so simple-minded.

The bad thing about it was that with each new fight she became stronger and faster. No one came by as easily on the same level as her. At first the weasel still believed that it could only earn the best in this. Unfortunately, Tara soon realized that she was almost the only one in her age group who was left without a partner. Another female, who was now with a mammoth, appeased her that the right one would come.

The first few days she counted almost thirty shield-maidens. But over time, her comrades dissolved because their admirers carried them victoriously away. Until that morning, when she only appeared alone in the arena. Spring and summer passed so quickly, and she imagined her dream partner so strongly last winter. Now nobody came and the leaves on the trees were already brown. Still, she stepped out onto the arena every day. She had to do it, even if she was slowly being eaten up by jealousy because the other couples looked so happy.

Should she have let the last fighter win? Would she then not feel left behind now?

No. It would be a lie she couldn't live with. Her upbringing and pride forbade her to make it so easy. So she had to hold on and took the shame with the eyes of the others in her back.

When the first snowflakes covered the country, the weasel was called to the three elders of the village. They have lived and passed on their rituals and traditions for so long, but they have never seen a difficult case like Tara. Everything was blamed on her stubbornness because she would only go out dead as a loser from a duel and nobody wants such a bride.

It was quickly decided that she had to leave her home to find a partner in the distance. Even if it was difficult for her to move abroad, she didn't want to be alone forever. After half a day of preparation she set off to start the long journey. So she reached Mammal's Crown, where she was given the tip that many strong animals should come here. That sounded too good to be true, Tara thought, but tried her luck at this little spot. Disappointingly, she was unsuccessful here too.

"A warrior with the strength must conquer me in a one on one fight. If somebody defeats me, I'll have to obey his every wish and I would like to do that, but no warrior's been strong enough yet. Everywhere I go, I heard that the Fellowship consists of the greatest warriors. It says so in a prophecy from the Labyrinth of Knowledge. Maybe one of your members could beat me. That's why I came along." Explained the shield maid very loosely and winked at everyone as if it would not mean the end of life for them if the animal lost a fight against her.

Gertie pushed her boyfriend behind her. Louis looked up at her with a look that said, I wasn't going to step too close to the belligerent weasel. The other young raptor was hiding behind Katie all the time because he wanted to avoid eye contact with the lady. Gavin was about to open his mouth, but suddenly had a sword between his teeth. It turned out to be the unsharp side of the kangaroo pirate's blade. This looked sharply at the scaly one and he shook off the weapon and remained silent. Stupid woman, the Dakotaraptor thought to himself.

"Okay, what's that gotta do with love at all, honey?" Before anyone else could say anything, Buckminster spoke. Because the lady was apparently never informed about true love. He found that somehow sad.

"I'll love anyone whoever defeats me. I've waited so long for this and I'm about to explode! But, I've never told anyone or a whole group this before. Actually, we also live very reservedly." Tara continued talking about herself.

"I see. You hardly notice the pool of blood that you drag after you." Manny said freely and got his wife's trunk in his side.

"Ouch! It is true." He whined a little further.

"Ignore him. You'll find someone one day." Ellie also hoped that her new member could kill less. At least she could try to watch the poor weasel a little as long as it stayed close.

"It feels ... kinda ... good. You know to reveal yourself to someone." The warrior said a little irritated, because such feelings were new to her, but it was well received.

"Well, now we know what happened with the dead bodies back at Mammal's Crown's abandoned arena." Manfred continued to speak as if it was not obvious for everyone to see back there.

"Now I get it. All the hard training just to meet someone who is really worth loving." Teddy noticed a paw in the back as he said this sentences and he knew who was standing next to him without looking. He grinned a little because he liked to see his queen a little jealous, even if there was no reason for it.

"But none have survived." Buck tried to get the upper hand in this conversation again.

"You have to understand that you can't breathe life out of everyone just because they're not stronger than you." The male weasel found this direction to get a date really outdated and stupid. And he really knew about stupid things.

"I was brought up like that." Tara threw it at him vigorously because she didn't like how a stranger talked about her traditions.

"Another reason why Chronos must go." Sidney interfered and then he noticed something.

"Wait a moment! In theory, this Bono has you..."

"Mono, Sid!" Grayson already gritted his teeth, because the sloth type seemed to be able to remember names earlier, but not now.

"I'm allowed to bite my tongue whenever I want!" Then the lazy animal turned back to the warrior lady.

"So theoretically this MONO defeated you. Is he your husband now?" Everyone looked astonished between the two. They didn't know what surprised them more, that Sid thought along or this question.

"One on one fight." Tara repeated slowly, because apparently this sloth hadn't understood her earlier.

"Don't come at me like this. So we were ... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven... Manny what came after seven?" He turned to his buddy, but the mammoth groaned at it again annoyed.

"Twenty."

"What? No. I think there was another number."

"No, we were twenty earlier."

"I see. OK." With that, Sid turned back to the weasel woman.

"You see? Now you're a twentieth part married to Mono." Sid said it, feeling completely smart. His interlocutor and some of the others rolled their eyes. Brooke just smiled at what her boyfriend said, but still pushed him away from Tara.

"So enough background stories for today. Off to training!" The raccoon announced impatiently because they had all been sitting around long enough.

* * *

The Fellowship took a while again, because some of the animals had to warm up before doing sports. Grayson tried not to get a fit because it was taking too long. The oldest mammoth also thought its part on this.

The guy thinks we're fleas and when he says jump we should just ask how high. Actually, the flashy raccoon should have seen that coming if he knew everything about us. But a little movement doesn't hurt my old bones either.

"Well, now the story time's out of the way, let's begin the real training." Squint had all the time about the heavy things on his arms and was already beginning to practice with it. Now he climbed up the mast, but still slide down because of the weights. A few unsightly curses followed, which Gertie noted with a smile within earshot. Her father immediately looked at her in punishment.

"I am an adult and when I want to say §#&% then I say §#&%!" The younger one explained with folded wings.

"And if I want to give you house arrest, I'll do that too!" Said Gavin sternly.

"Dad!" The young woman complained, but then she was pushed forward to the mast by him. She was the next in line to climb up.

Everyone from the group except Rudy, Cretaceous and Maelstrom, each took their turn. Unfortunately, almost no one managed to reach the arrow. Except for Tara, who was jumping up there as if it were an easy thing. Because she had to show off like this, the raccoon trainer made her think about love. The only thing Grayson could remember that the woman didn't know much about. Then he continued to watch the others. Brooke rubbed her back as she walked away in front of him.

"We've got a long way to go." He shook his head because he was visibly disappointed. He threw staffs to the animals. This time the flying fish and the white dino were also allowed to participate. Even if the giant colleague didn't really know what it would bring him to wave around with a toothpick. Cretaceous and Maelstrom tried to balance the staff on their back, stomach and then the head.

"Now watch!" The Striped Trainer announced loudly that everyone could hear it. He threw up two ice pieces and breaks them apart with his conch shell bo staff. The other mammals are highly impressed.

"Ha! Ho and Hilalaja!" Julian was thrilled with his staff in his trunk until he hit his father-in-law fully on the butt. Angry, this turned around.

"Do that again and we'll move on to swimming lessons!" Because the blow hurts a lot, for the oldest mammoth.

"Dad, that was not on purpose!" Peaches said and stood in front of her husband.

"You are too close to him too. If you had kept your distance, that would not have happened." The mammoth mother explained to her pachyderm husband and pushed him further away.

"Sorry." Julian apologized and then everyone went on with their punching exercises. With the peach-colored mammoth moving away from her previous spot, Squint grinned, throwing a fast cockroach into her back. The insect immediately crawled under her fur, which caused Peaches to move wildly. Most members of the Fellowship ducked or simply dropped to the ground to avoid being hit. The raccoon analyzed the situation. He does a somersault in the air and was landing near Peaches. Unintentionally, he took a staff in the stomach, but Grayson still managed to stop her and take her staff out of the trunk.

"Okay, so the first task didn't go as well as we would have liked." And with 'we', the raccoon meant him.

"Let's try something else." Grayson stepped on a wooden platform and threw up three apples which he pierced with three arrows from one bow. The Fellowship tried and failed. The head of the herd put an end to this chaos.

"How should we be able to do that? I mean, none of us had a bow in our trunk before. Yes, Sid, or in the paw. Or claw, wings, hands, fin. You know what I'm getting at. In any case, that doesn't get us anywhere if we finally master all archery. Ouch! What the..?" Manfred's speech was stopped by an arrow. One who was in his butt now.

"Ok, that was it. Now the son-in-law is learning to swim!" He shouted angrily across the deck.

"How do you know it was me?" Julian asked, hiding behind the baryonyx.

"Now calm down. Besides, you were standing in front of him again this time." For the last sentence, Ellie got a certain look from her mammoth.

"I'm not saying anything anymore. So if your blood pressure goes up, it's your own fault." Manny didn't think it was fair, but didn't get into a discussion with her. He would only lose anyway.

"Ok, but one more thing and I'm really going to explode." He added casually and gritted his teeth so that his wife could pull out the arrow, which luckily wasn't stuck very deep.

"But I won't clean it up then." Sid whispered to his girlfriend and then he remembered that this ship didn't belong to them, so they didn't actually have to clean it up.

"Back to you, the wanna-be trainer." The old mammoth turned back to Grayson. This raised his paws defensively because he didn't want any trouble.

"Okay, training number two wasn't my best idea either. Onto the next one!" He balanced perfectly a bucket of water on his head, while also keeping his staff horizontal. He ordered the audience to throw snowballs at him, which some immediately liked to do. But the raccoon skillfully fended off everything. He turned around lightly so that the bucket fell from his head. He used his weapon and only gently nudged the object so that it ended up in front of him with all the water in it and without spilling a drop.

"So Manny. Can't complain here. Balance is important for every fight." Buck interrupted the mammoth before it could throw anything in again. Great, the pachyderm thought and saw himself already failing in his mind's eye.

Brooke dancingly balanced the bucket on her head as she rounded off her movements with the staff.

"None of you throws anything, understood! She's my girl, so I'm throwing something!" Announced the male sloth and threw a snowball at Brooke, but missed far. So far that Manfred got the thing in the face.

"Are you serious right now?! This day really challenges my patience." The mammoth gritted between his teeth out. Beside him, Ellie tried not to laugh out loud and concentrate more on the task. Though she was reluctant to throw something at her friend, the female sloth looked like she could handle it. Better Brooke actually smashed some snowballs to pieces.

After the lady sloth, some animals could do it too. And some really don't. But their trainer saw that everyone was at least trying this time. Now that was a start.  
For the next task, Grayson set up a small ice pool with fish in it. Well, actually he had taken care of it this morning, but nobody saw that. So now he was pretending to do things to complete it. Because he liked the way a certain curly mammoth watched him do it. He often felt her eyes on his back when she thought nobody saw it. The raccoon didn't know why, but he just guessed when she stared with her lovely eyes. He shook his head because he had to show the next exercise.

So Grayson explained that it was all about speed now. With lightning speed he broke the water surface and retrieves a fish with his paw. Then he instructed everyone to do that too. Gladys dipped her paw down into the water and retrieve's a foot of a badger. She realized that the rest belonged to Gupta and released him immediately. The pirate rabbit liked the game and already knew it. That's why he had a fish in his paws fast.

"Lilac bush here, that's how you do it." Squint said coolly to the sloth lady and tossed her the caught fish. Teddy glanced back and forth between the other rabbit and his lover. Ok, he can let that flirt through once and his lady didn't seem bothered or anything.

"Did he just call me.." But Gladys couldn't finish her question, nor grab a fish.

"Next!" The impatient trainer roared because not everyone had space in the pool at the same time. The whole thing went more towards disgrace, because only six animals really caught a fish here.

Next up was dodging on the plan. Roger thought he could do it because he was always very good at escaping. Only the young Dakotaraptor did not get in his head that one would shoot at him in training. With arrows and a machine that fired them very quickly.

"Yikes!" He shouted as the lit arrows rained down on him as he ran the parkour along the ship.

"Tell Grayson, isn't it dangerous if you shoot so many fire arrows around?" Peaches asked the raccoon, who couldn't stop turning the machine's crank, that more and more arrows were being catapulted out.

"No problem. I am not operating this baby for the first time. You have to be very careful with her, because she doesn't just let everyone approach her. What did you say sweetie? More long and pointed things? But gladly."

"OK." The mammoth simply hoped that this ship would not go under and turned away from the striped animal.

The young Raptor was of course not the only one who wanted to do the most dangerous training here. Gutt also ran around here quite successfully. At least until shortly before the goal.

"YAAAAHHHH !" The captain cried out in pain because an arrow hit him in the butt.

"Medic!" Roared the trigger-happy raccoon, who briefly stopped the shootings. Then it went on mercilessly for the others.

"I got this." Said the molehog to himself and banged his head on a stone slab after a short walk, but ultimately a piece of a tooth broke off and fell to the floor. And so Louis did.

"Ooh ... Medic!" Grayson announced again with a sigh. But then someone even escaped all of his arrows without a scratch. It was Gertie who finally knocked over his arrow dispenser because her boyfriend and others had almost seriously injured themselves through the thing.

So the self-appointed coach pulled a new idea from his shiny fur. Yes, Coco wondered how he styled it so nicely. She always looked so messy.

Grayson practiced martial arts with the female Raptor. With a targeted punch to the face, he actually managed to hurl the lady far back into an ice wall. The dino father acted like a boxing coach and drenched her in water.

"Don't give up yet, Gertie. Rematch!" Gavin cheered his daughter on.

"Ugh." She then let Squint push her back into the ring that the raccoon had built himself. But in close combat with the smaller animal, she had no chance. With a few targeted kicks, she was knocked out.

Next, the trainer again suggested some kind of balance. So yesterday he put up poles on the entire deck of the ship and everyone must jump from one to the next. He also made sure that the mammoths and Rudy could join in here. The huge guy unfortunately almost fell into the water on the first try and didn't feel like playing these games anymore. Julian suddenly felt an itch at his back that he did not jump to the next pole but instead brought everyone who wanted to jump behind him to the ground.

"Medic again!" Roared Grayson, slowly rolling his eyes in annoyance. So he really hadn't dreamed of the famous fellowship in this way. The weasels were not so stupid with this exercise. Even if Buck had to exaggerate it a little on the pole. Some girls here and few boys thought it was great. Thus, the pole dancer was whistled and cheered on a lot.

The strict trainer then quickly stopped this, because they should all do something more important. Namely train. So the next training course happened. Cannon fire missed the target in the middle of the open ocean. Squint kicked the support structure out from Sid's cannon and it started to fall. The sloth quickly grabbed the round thing. It fired high and back towards Rudy and the flying fish.

"MEDIC!" The raccoon decided to drink an herbal infusion of honey later because his voice was slowly failing. But he couldn't give up because the day wasn't over and no one had had great success. Not pleased, Grayson now saw over the ship from the roof.

The scene changed to laden with conch shell bo staffs on all their shoulders. They also carried leaf bags of crystals on each side. The group marched around the big ship. Tara pointed out to the raccoon that Scrat was struggling. The little one stumbled and fell to the ground and felt crushed. Peaches and Raz tried to help him up, but then the trainer got involved and took the stuff from the squirrel. Grayson now carried twice the load on staffs with crystals and ran to the others. Scrat facepalmed and thought the guy didn't have to show off that much.

But the redeeming evening came faster than everyone thought. When it came to the raccoon, everyone should still run around and exercise, but some growling stomachs strictly said no.

"Ugh! This is a disaster." Scrat hurt everything and thought he could feel every muscle in his body. Still, he didn't want to and couldn't miss dinner.

At the left of the table, the male weasel stared at Squint viciously.

"You're costing us some days and training out here, bunny!" He complained a little.

"So what?" The pirate pretended not to know what was going on and nibbled his green stuff.

"So, are you trying to jeopardize our quest with your lunacy?!" Buck went on and got a little more into it.

"Force of habit." The rabbit shrugged.

"Wanna go a few rounds, Lucky long-ear?" The spaghetti animal pricked Rudy's tooth into the wooden table to show how serious he meant it.

"Bring it, Patchy Weasel!" Squint's eyes closed dangerously and he took out his knife too. The bright mammoth squeezed herself in between.

"Okay, stop. This isn't getting us anywhere. I say tomorrow we redo all the training and get them right. We just have to optimize everything correctly for everyone." Katie said reconciling, than fights would only drive them all apart.

"She is right. For the sake of our own survival." Sid agreed, then whispered more to himself.

"And for drama." He loved that a little.

"I mean, we still must put aside our petty squabbles and act as a large and full team."

"For now!" The pirate rabbit reminded him clearly.

"That rabbit's got issues." Gertie quietly turned to her scaly family.

"Maybe a few wooden screws are loose." Her brother said a little unsuspectingly.

"That's Squint for you." The pirate kangaroo explained as if it were normal.

"It's always the common crazy." Gavin shook his head at this.

"Hey! Shut up!" The rabbit defended himself angrily, because what else did strangers know about his life. But he couldn't complain further, than her coach put an end to it.

"Enough of it! Off to bed, guys. King's going to wake you up in the morning." Grayson announced, with hope for tomorrow's practice.

"Hissing?" Manny had suggested it before.

"Yes." The spider nodded in agreement and crawled away.

"Then let's sleep." The leader of the herd also thought it better to lie down after the good meal.

"Brooke, I may sleep with Shira and Diego." Scrat explained his angel a little sheepishly because he didn't really want her to be sad.

"Okay then, have fun." The female sloth didn't seem to mind.

"I think it's very nice to have you again one night just for me, but I think Shira and him have some kind of secret relationship going on." Sid put his paws from behind around his loved one.

"It's about psychic connection." Brooke leaned against her dream man.

"Of course." He nodded understandingly.

"He's the squirrel." The colorful sloth continued to smile, because she was looking forward to a night with more kisses.

"Yup." And the said saber-toothed squirrel snuggled up to the tigress. Shira purred immediately when Scrat stepped near her.

"Crazy little squirrel." The male saber tooth next to it still didn't know exactly what to make of the number when he saw the two cuddling like this. But now it was bedtime.

* * *

The next morning came too early for some, but they had to realize that they all had to do more to get better. The raccoon was of course fresh like morning dew in front our gang and was only dreamily eyed by one mammoth.

"OK. This is day slash attempt number two. Let's not screw this up and get to attempt number three. Hence the old saying 'Three strikes, you're out.'" Grayson already made a promising speech.

"Fair enough." Diego nodded.

"Now, who will get the arrow?" The coach of course meant the thing up on the mast.

"I will." The little prickly one stepped forward to test himself. Everyone gasped amazed.

"Alright, Louis. Let's see what you got." Grayson found it brave, but secretly he didn't expect much. The molehog took the stony boulder weights and tried to climb the mast again. He cleverly tied the weights together behind the pole and used the fabric to help him shimmy up the high thing. The arrow that was shot up, came down to the raccoons feet. The Trainer looked up and nodded in acknowledgment to Louis, who was now resting on top of the long wood.

"What took us so long buddy?" He shouted amused and everyone cheered.

"Yeah, Louis!" Scrat celebrated him bouncing.

"Yeah, way to go!" Albert jumped up and down too.

"I'm impressed, now for more." Grayson didn't let himself pause for long. The staff race was back on their daily list.

But the squirrel had secretly received tips from the tigress, so he ran in front of the raccoon and the others with the conch shell bo staff and bags of crystals on his shoulders. Later, Gertie kicked Grayson in the face and this looked very pleased. Julian did acrobatics on the poles as the others followed. Conch shell bo staffs are being thrown to the whole Fellowship and Squint handed Peaches hers.

And as the Fellowship done bo staff practice, a montage happened every time they attack.

"Hya!" Everyone shouted in unison.

Gutt ran through flaming arrows and this time without being hit.

"Hya!"

Louis broke the stone slab skillfully.

"Hya!"

Gladys held up victorious eight fish and her boyfriend threw her an air kiss for it.

All of the cannons fired at once and hit the target.

"Hya!" All jumped enthusiastically, everyone in their own way, in the air. All in all, the fellowship was in good shape for most of the training

* * *

At nighttime, when everyone finally got enough rest to recover from training, they gathered all by a small built in fire pit. Buck was singing with the spider nicely.

"Mammals are better than villains. King, don't you think that's true?" The weasel sang cheerfully.

"Yeah, they will beat you

And curse you and cheat you

Every one of them's bad except you guys." King continued to chirp.

"Thanks, guys." Soto and the pirate captain thanked almost simultaneously.

"SCRAM, YOU OTHER VILLAINS WORSE THAN ME! I DON'T NEED TO HEAR YOU NAG!" The music insect sang more to the Tinker Toys outside.

"But villains smell better than mammals

King, don't you think I'm right?" Weasel sang on like that.

"That's once again true

For all except us." The duet sounded great for everyone.

"You got it, let's call it a night." The song is not over yet.

"Goodnight." The spider wished it everyone with this turn.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite." Buck said in a teasing tone. Everyone applauded and the song already ended.

"Nice duet, you two." Tara said and you didn't know if it was a real compliment or just sarcasm.

"Man, even I coulda done that, but I'm not you two." The younger weasel mixed in between.

"Never doubt a freelance dinosaur whisperer on the edge of his seat." Buck said frankly here.

"I sense ... an aura of jubilation." Elric continued to meditate cheerfully.

"I sense ... a little weasel saying 'Rainbows make me cry." Manny smirked to that.

"Very clever, mammoth. Very clever indeed. " The weasel opened the eyes and laughed.

* * *

For our couples, the night was of course still young again. In addition, the moon shone so brightly on the ship that they didn't even need many torches to see anything. This huge floating something promised an undisturbed corner for everyone.

So also for a lilac-colored sloth that just couldn't let go of her teddy bear. The poor guy could hardly breathe, but he liked it that way. Suddenly Gladys jumped up and looked in your direction.

"Undisturbed corner, huh?" The sloth looked at you angrily and the storyteller saw that they got out of here quickly.

* * *

Another couple was also not moving to the sleeping place yet, because they would probably be suspected to be there.

"How's your tooth?" Gertie asked a little worried to her boyfriend. The accident yesterday could have been worse, she thought.

"Already fine. You don't have to worry so much. I'm not made of leaves." The molehog calmed her down and he was glad that they both had found a hiding place, which the older Dakotaraptor has not yet found. Not that he had anything indecent or anything in mind, but with his girlfriend's father in the back, he couldn't even touch her claw without getting nervous with fear.

"I won't do it at all." Said the dino lady and stubbornly looked away. Louis nudged her belly lightly because he was sitting in her lap. He actually wanted to sit next to her, but she just put him on her feet without a word. He always felt like a child like this, but strangely enough it seemed to please his girlfriend. So at least he tried not to touch her with his spikes too much in this position.

"Is your beak too dry today? Should I get us something to drink?" Because the little one saw that she licked her tongue over it.

"No, just stay here!" The Raptor replied a little louder, because firstly she didn't want to waste time on it. In addition, her old man could then find them here in the storage room. She didn't feel like it. Why couldn't her father understand that she had found love and was happy?

"I mean, I..." Gertie broke off the sentence and looked aside, because maybe someone would come in and bother them. Silence fell on both of them and nobody appeared.

"Yes?" Louis asked, trying to catch her eyes.

"Oh, that's so stupid! I also don't know why I'm so stupid instead. I just want.."

"Just say what you want. I don't bite."The molehog jokingly told and held one arm of her.

"Can we just make out again without thinking?" When the question cam up, even though the smaller one didn't think it was one, his head felt very warm.

"Then come down here and don't hold your head up so out of reach. We have to do something against your dry beak." He simply let out what he thought and the lady of his heart grinned delightedly. He never would have dared to do that before. With Gertie was more fun to push yourself more to things.

* * *

Not far from the two, two mammoths enjoyed the evening. Julian and Peaches walked a little around the moonlight. They always stopped to kiss or just enjoy the view of the sky.

"Tell me, do you hear that too?" The man asked abruptly and looked at a locked cabin.

"Hm?" She tried to listen, but nothing came to her ears.

"I'll show you, Ellie!" At least she didn't hear anything until she stepped closer to the door.

"Oh Manny, don't be so hard on me. I am no longer the youngest."

"You get what you deserve. Hah!"

"Ah! Please, a bit slower."

"Have you ever acted with me gently before? No. So now reap what you sowed. With full power." And it got louder behind the door again. A little shocked, the peach-colored mammoth stepped away from the room.

"We're going back there now." She explained to her husband.

"What's going on in there?" Julian wanted to know curiously.

"I said we're going now!" With that, Peaches dragged him away from the place. More strange noises came from the other side of the door.

"Ha! Fifteen to seven. I won, Ellie!" Manfred was now pleased that he agreed to his wife for shell tennis. At first he didn't feel like doing more sport, but now he thought it was great.

"I let you win on purpose." The mammoth mother gasped, because she didn't think her husband would be so fit. Before Peaches was born, they liked to do things like that, so she wanted to suggest it. Only she didn't really want to lose now.

"I would say that if I were you. But don't be sad, the loser can fulfill the winner's every wish." Ellie rolled her eyes, but she smiled anyway.

"And what would that be, my winner?" Then Manny came very close and whispered something to her. Then her smile grew wider.

Meanwhile, Gavin was almost run over by Julian, who was actually only pulled by his wife.

"Sorry!" The male mammoth called, but Peaches didn't stop. The Raptor looked a little confused after the two. Does someone understand the youth, he thought, because a man should never be treated like this by a woman. That would really be below his dignity. He was actually going to search his children to prevent him from becoming a grandfather. Yes, he had to admit internally that little Dakotaraptors are cute, but not with the chaos that was going on here. Children should hatch in the world in peace. Although he had properly informed both of them about offspring, he saw in the land of more mammals how fast this was going on today and before he knew it, he is called Grandpa Gavin. Thank you, but no thank you, he thought vigorously and continued to look for his witty brood.

Then someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. Exactly this one that got hurt.

"Hey Gavin. Sorry about biting you back there." The pirate apologized and somehow it sounded honest and somehow it didn't.

"Don't sweat it. I've been through worse." The Raptor gave out annoyed, because he really didn't have time for such chats.

"Want to arm wrestle?" The pirate grinned at his suggestion. The scaly one looked at the mammal for a moment.

"All right. But only one round, because I have other things to take care of." So Gavin and Gutt got their elbows on a big log and gripped, claw to paw. The arm wrestling started also with a stare down.

"You know, Gavin. When I first found out that you and Raz had a thing going on, I was upset and angry at the same time." The captain began to chat in a polite tone, because he thought it was bad that behind his back, his treasures had been touched.

"Shira and Flynn kept it a secret the whole time. I should've kicked the four of you out of the crew when I had the chance." Two should have drowned in the water and the other would have given good food for my darlings, the monkey thought this part only for himself.

"I know, but for some other reason, you couln't." The Dino grinned just as fake.

"Well, if you win, Raz can spend time with your children. But if I win ... you will have to do more training even though we completed it." Training in dying, because this traitor should suffer more in Gutt's opinion. Besides, it could be that they all eventually turn to sand again, so the good mother didn't get much time with her children. He wasn't really sorry about that.

Oh, Gavin knew those eyes and that look. That didn't mean anything good. It never did with pirates and the Raptor really knew it. He had hoped it would go really peacefully, but the monkey didn't want it any other way and so he got an adrenaline rush with his anger and pushed the other arm down.

"Victory!" The winner cheered victoriously.

"Ah! You Got Me." But Gutt once played the loser, because he knew who would really lose here soon.

"And that is how it's done!" Buck jumped out of nowhere again and had apparently watched everything.

* * *

Somewhere else a young weasel could not leave poor Meghan alone. And she really tried to escape the annoying boy on the ship. She wondered who had raised him to harass women so freely. Nevertheless, the little boy dared to annoy her with songs.

"Lay your trunk around its neck and I'll play you a catchy tune. And once you hear the music, there's no going back." Albert sang cheerfully, but it wasn't for the mammoth. She snapped and yanked her trunk.

"That's it!" And bonked the boy's head and then warned him to put her foot over him. Even then the guy grinned confidently and so she pushed him to the ground with her hoof. Of course, it should only hurt a bit, she didn't want to crush him fatally.

"There. I hope you learned from it! There are other weasels here, too, you know. Yodel their ears full!" Angrily she stepped away and the little weasel remained disappointed on the floor.

* * *

A bright mammoth wasn't so annoyed because she was snuggling up to Roger. This slightly rubbed Katie's left leg.

"You know, I never met anyone like you." She watched him dreamily.

"Me either." The Raptor puffed out his chest and it was almost making him muscular. She giggled softly because she thought that was silly and cute.

"Roger, you don't have to do that."

"Really?"

"No, it's too funny."

"Oh." He sighed and let out the breath.

"Heheh. Shall we kiss?" He said, because he thought it was great.

"Yes!" The mammoth smiled broadly and her trunk carefully approached his beak.

"Ay! Can you lend him to me briefly?" Because Raz happened to come over when she wanted to see someone else. When she saw her son, she remembered that one day she should talk to her two kids more alone. So once without Gavin.

"Of course." Katie nodded at her a little surprised that she wasn't expecting the pirate now.

"Oh, heheh." The young raptor again distanced himself from his girlfriend because he was embarrassed. The mammoth actually wanted to stay, but she realized that this was going to be a mother-son-moment, the two couldn't have that before.

"I'm going to check on Steffie. I think she caught something." With that, she disappeared from the place.

* * *

A now chatty squirrel kept the pair of saber tooth company.

"So you did all that? Saving Manny, Sid, Ellie, the possums and me from the flood? Caused the Continental Drift? And made an asteroid falling towards the Earth even though you didn't mean to?" Diego asked again carefully because he didn't quite understand it.

"Yeah, sorry if I did all those wrong." Scrat didn't look that guilty when he nibbled some fruit.

"Relax, we're on the same side. So, I won't eat you." The tiger calmed him with a sigh, because what has happened has happened.

"Oh, well that's good." Thought the smaller one and Shira whispered something to him. For that she got another long kiss from him.

"Psychic connection, again, huh?" Diego tried to smile at it.

"Yeah." The male saber tooth was only answered here.

"Okay then." He tried to walk away until he stepped in some honey.

"What the ..?" He wanted to ask, but the possums were faster. The brothers put a fish bone necklace him.

"Gotcha!" The two pranksters shouted amused.

"Oh, very clever, possums. Real mature. Hey, can you two let me go?"

"You should have thought about that before you stepped in the sticky stuff, orangey." Crash said with a laugh and Eddie agreed. The saber tooth rolled his eyes in annoyance.

* * *

In the middle of the night, when more animals got their well-deserved sleep, others were still fully rested and sneaked around on the ship. The spider only crawled around to treat itself to water with honey. On his way, he trolled past a room where a mammoth relaxed with the door open.

"Hey Ethan. Flynn fell overboard and since we trained, we thought-" Wanted to explain the insect Ethan further, but suddenly saw something in the shade that made him still.

"What?" The taller wanted to know confused.

"Behind you!" King warned the other quickly and the pachyderm turned around.

"Huh?" At first the mammoth saw nothing, but then he saw this glow, which of course seemed familiar to him from the Tinker Toys.

"Yikes! How did that little guy get in here?!"

"I don't know, but I'm sure what it wants, is trying to kill you!" The eight-legged man insured as if he could read thoughts of a metal thing. Nevertheless, he spun the enemy in with his cobwebs.

"Die, sucker!" He added, but unfortunately the toy used its drills to escape. Then it turned one of its claws into a hammer and smashed King.

"Oh, that was low!" Because he really didn't find this attack fair.

"Nobody challenges the generals of Chronos goes unpunished!" It came mechanically from the metal being. Suddenly someone threw a stone at the thing. This came from Scrat, who saw the whole thing.

"Leave him alone!" Called the squirrel and dented Chrono's servant a little with the next stone.

"Filthy squirrel, you're only delaying the inevitable." Scrat then took the biggest chunk of ice he could find and smashed the Tinker Toy down with it.

"That's enough out of you."

"You saved my life!" Ethan said thankful and hugged the little one with his trunk. Others were woken up by the noise and came running.

"What happened?! What did we miss?!" The raccoon took a cool fighting pose for him, because he expected even more attacks.

"That I predict." Julian said, yawning, pointing to the broken toy.

"And King got smashed." Roger immediately bent over to the poor guy when he saw him.

"I'm okay ..." The spider sounded a bit self-conscious.

"Poor King. Poor, sweet, bossy, crumpled, and hammered king." Said Gertie and stroked him a little.

"Don't worry, your spiderness, you'll be fine. We remembered what you said about not dying." Louis added to the matter.

"Yup." The insect bravely rose again.

"So what happened?" Roger wanted an explanation as if it wasn't obvious.

"A Tinker Toy attempted to kill Ethan. Luckily, we stopped it." Scrat confirmed that this attack was blocked. Steffie kicked the destroyed Tinker Toy angry because it wanted to hurt her boyfriend. If they spent a little time together, it wouldn't have happened. But the gentleman prefers to stay alone, she thought a little snapped.

"Even I could have destroyed that little monster." Meghan was absolutely sure of that.

"Guys, I just realized something." The dark brown mammoth continued.

"What?" Some asked because the woman took the time to continue talking.

"If the Tinker Toy attempted to kill Ethan, Chronos just doesn't want the Fellowship out of the way, he wants us dead." She announced it ominously.  
Some shivered in fear, but others not. Manny already took a breath wanted to ask the more recent questions about what she hadn't understood about this sand guy, which said he wouldn't leave them with their lives. His wife held him back again, because he should probably not get upset.

"Good thing Ethan got no scratches." The molehog tried to describe the positive.

"Let alone trying to make me bleed out." The red-brown mammoth meant and Katie hit him lightly with her trunk.

"Next time, fewer details." The blonde demanded, because the situation was difficult enough.

"Well, good thing we trained, or Ethan would be diced meat." The young Dakotaraptor said a little worried.

"Ugh, thanks for the concern, Roger." The named pachyderm patted the back of the dino.

"Well, let's head to sleep, guys. Julian was telling me some great stories, and I would love to hear more while I sleep." Scrat was getting tired.

"But not so many anymore. My husband also needs his sleep." Peaches didn't want to know why a squirrel was jostling between them while they were cuddling before.

"Please." Her husband and the small rodent made big asking eyes.

"Only one or two more if the first is not that long." She added and her mother shook her head.

"You have to learn to say no sometimes, otherwise you will never raise him." Ellie whispered to her. The younger one just nodded.

"Yeah, goodnight everyone." Julian wished to all animals a good night and went on with the little buddy. Everyone else set out for the night sleep too.

Flynn, on the other hand, swam around more before he crawled to his sleeping place. After all, he didn't want to lose the ship in his sleep, and that happened to him many times before. Gutt was always so angry there, so this time he stayed close to his boss.

* * *

A few days passed without anything happening to our troupe. Some clumsy animals, such as Sid, fell into the sea during a storm, but the problem was quickly solved by their flying fish. Grayson naturally counted the past few days and noticed that there were twelve. He found it strangely calm. Too calm and Chronos henchmen they should have visited them again long ago. But today the sky was blue and there was no cloud above. Maybe our opponent just wants to rock us in safety, thought the raccoon, still looking for suspicious movements. Most of the others were still asleep. Probably because they all sat together for too long last night after dinner.

"Rise and shine, guys! We've gotta get to Olympus before Chronos' allies do, remember?! Otherwise, I'll sail the ship myself!" The spider was beginning to wake the group because he was so friendly and let them all sleep a little longer. When a cute sloth lady asks you with an angelic face, you don't just say no. So far he has kept his distance, from the beauty named Brooke, because most mammalian women are actually afraid of his species. He still didn't know why.

"And it's almost noon. We- We overslept!" Manny remarked in panic and that rarely happened to him when something important was coming up. His wife also looked very sleepy.

"And about yesterday, Scrat was in the bucket raft after playing 'Dakotaraptor, Dakotaraptor, Scrat' and I don't know what to do about it." King mentioned casually.

"Hold on, I'll get him out." Grayson immediately agreed, but he thought the eight-legged friend could have said something earlier. Finally, they sat together at the breakfast table. So he got out a wooden fishing pole and fished the squirrel back on the ship, but with a squid on his head. The little guy looked a little disturbed, certainly because he had to hold on to the hull somewhere all night to avoid drifting away with the waves.

"Holy crap, we left him in the water for too long! Hey mutated!" Albert found this fascinating and wondered if he could do that too.

"Don't be silly. It's just a squid on his head." Grayson unwantedly destroyed the dreams of the little weasel and removed the slimy thing from the rodent's head. Then Scrat was inked up, which he tried to shake off immediately.

"Ooh, thanks guys. My vision was getting darker if it weren't for you." And colder if the squirrel was honest, because they were still in cold water. The thought vanished when he saw another ship not far from them.

"Umm, guys, a bogey boat behind us!" Scrat shouted loudly and some other animals, noticed the villains already. The enemy laughed and the metal minions were pinching their claws.

"It seems that the Tinker Toys and Mono are back for another round." Elric recognized the whole thing very correctly.

"What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?" Julian ran around in circles in fear and his father-in-law moaned again annoyed.

"I got an idea. Why don't we use these CANNONS if the ship is packed with them?" The old mammoth couldn't really say that more sarcastic and everyone really noticed it.

"Can't we just sail to Olympus instead?" The weasel teenager inquires, because he didn't want to fight now. He also avoided it during training because Grayson thought he was a weak child.

"Firstly, if they attack us now and the ship is damaged too badly, we won't get there. Second, I also don't think it would be very wise to bring these guys to Olympus. So this is our chance to knock down their ship and finally take down Mono, forcing them to retreat and buy us time." Explained Roger how he saw the matter and promptly got a trunk kiss from his loved one. He had to grin at that, he didn't know what it was for, but it was nice.

"Got it. So guys, you know all your tasks and what needs to be done? Who will operate the cannons? Who will be on the defense lines?" Everyone replied or nodded to the raccoon that everyone was okay and understood. But of course the striped heroic had to keep chattering.

"If the Tinker Toys come aboard, take them out the old fashioned way. A team battle. We against them. Of course, I have the most difficult and responsible of all tasks here. I will do everything in my power to do justice to this burden. No, don't take pity on me. I was born and raised to do the hardest. Yes exactly, I, Grayson, will control the ship." He said full of heroism and only Coco found his speech remarkable, if not legendary. What a man, she thought enthusiastically.

"Heheheh, now they will see why I am the most feared general of Chronos' New Era!" Announced Mono and was so close that everyone on their ship could hear him.

The Pathfinder turned to the left and the Fellowship members prepared for the battle.

"Blast them down!" Manfred shouted loudly on their ship.

"Fire! Show no mercy!" The General announced aggressively on the other. For a while, cannon shooting went back and forth with no bad hits. The group's first small win was scored when a cannonball hit a big Tinker Toy while the metal skulls with two cannonballs narrowly missed the raccoon and Elric. The ship was scratched a bit, but it was repairable.

"Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!" Shouted a mechanical voice.

"May I aim with the eyes of a hawk, let my arrow fly with wings!" Elric shot the arrow at the roaring Tinker Toy in the eye. Mono's ship rammed the left side of theirs and the enemies actually dared to get on board.

"Okay, this is it! Guys, show them what you've learned!" Roared Grayson from the wheel, who almost wished that this giant thing could swim alone, on the sea, which very calm today. They were only ones far and wide that caused noise and waves.

"Got it!" Julian shouted and took out his staff, already hitting metal men off the ship. The whole Prat Back, Peaches and Coco used the conch shell bo staffs against the Toys. Louis and the young raptors used their brute strength against some metal heads. Rudy chomped and stomped on some. Cretaceous and Maelstrom just pushed some Tinker Toys off the ship if they didn't have them in view. And the fighter Tara finally got the fun with her bony battle ax that she had been waiting for all the time. These guys on the ship were such wimps. Their alleged hard brutal stories were just fairy tales for a woman like her.

"One, two, three. You stupid toys can't flee. Four, five and six. You all gonna meet my axe." Said the weasel as she slaughtered everything that came in her way.

"Girl, six don't even rhyme with ax." Gavin noted, who got parts of Tinker's on his head because she just shook the stuff off her gun without thinking.

"What? Don't bother me when I'm on the run like this! Besides, I didn't want to rhyme at all. Where was I? Oh yes, seven, eight and nine, that's your deadline!" And she jumped on the next villain. The Dakotaraptor just shook its head and watched to fly around somewhere else.

"You gotta be KIDDING ME! I must do everything myself?!" Cried Mono indignantly got out his giant hammer.

"That's it! You can board yourself on our ship, decide to annihilate us, but when somebody rings us out, that's when things get personal! " With that, the heroic raccoon interfered with his special staff and left the wheel on his own. With a turn and a three hundred and sixty degree roll in the air, he suddenly stood in the middle of everything and fought with the others.

The mammoths got their revenge in attacking the supreme enemy before he could swing at them hard with his weapon and was knocked down. The molehog and the two Dino Birds smashed the gorilla's face. Rudy whipped his tail at the enemy already lying on the ground. Cretaceous bounced him on his nose like a seal with a ball in the circus and passes Mono to Maelstrom, who then headbutts zhe guy to shield maiden. She swings her ax on his ribs, even if he hasn't resisted for a long time. But of course Grayson also wanted to do his part and delivered the final blow to the General, by hitting his bo staff on the already wounded chest.

"But I'm Mono, I do not lose!" Her opponent gasped and spat blood.

"Sorry, Mono. Not everyone can be a champion!" The raccoon explained to him triumphantly, because that was the end of their second enemy and that calmed him down.

"Curse you, fellowship! I shall return… you haven't seen the last…of me! We have not ... yet begun the real battle! Tinker Toys, we… we retreat!" He tried to scream and suddenly disappeared into smoke and so did the Tinker Toys and the enemy ship. But the only trick they managed to do was escape to the ship and move a bit away. After a few coughs, the hero spoke up.

"Okay, Sid, when they turn around, try to catch them!" Instructed Grayson, who was supposed to steer the ship, to actually Sidney, who wasn't really good at it. But nobody around him asked questions. Everyone just thought their part.

"They're doing it pretty fast." The sloth said uncertainly.

"Hot damn, those guys are quick! Fire! Fire! FIRE!" Grayson ordered loudly. So Sid fired another icy cannonball, with the help of Raz to the other ship and of course missed.

"Again!" The raccoon demanded, but again it was not hit.

"Aga.."

"Go away! I'll do it!" Shira pushed past the striped commander, loaded the cannon, and hit the enemy ship the first time, at the critical point that it was starting to sink. Almost all animals stared at her.

"What?! I've been doing this for years. You don't forget that so easily." The tigress said cool and Gutt found it completely attractive how she killed again. I will definitely get her back into my crew, the pirate thought to himself.

"Oh no! Our ship is sinking! Chronos is not going to be…" Then you heard only bubbling, because their opponents were below the water surface.

"We beat him!" Grayson gave himself and of course the others an applause for that.

"Haha! We did it!" But Coco saw only his deeds and pulled him towards her with her trunk in the heat of the moment and kissed him. They hadn't known each other for long, but she knew he was the special guy for her. The only true man who made her heart beat faster.

"Aww, Coco .." The raccoon only embarrassed said when he was allowed to breathe again.

"Ah ha! I knew it. I knew they had a thing going on!" Julian looked at the audience with a smirk. His father-in-law also looked there, with a roll of eyes and then an empty look, because he no longer understood anything.

* * *

Meanwhile in the the sand masters Keep, Chronos sat on his throne bored. He was of course waiting for better news to cheer him up. He ate fruits and the Tinker Toys handed him pieces in the mouth, because he hated getting his hands dirty. In addition, sand was inexplicably stuck to it.

"Keep them coming, my minions. I love some grapes." He ordered his servants. Suddenly someone destroyed the calmness by coming in soaking wet.

"My lord ..." It was Mono, of course, who knelt down and got everything watery.

"Let me guess - you failed as well." Chronos didn't even freak out and spoke in normal tone.

"I had them last time, but they have grown stronger." The general explained why he had failed.

"No matter, the scoreboard is official. Us - one, fellowship - three."

"Not good!"

"I know. Do you know what's not good either? The place got just wiped freshly. You come in here and mess everything up again! What will it look like if I get a visitor now?!" That really made the sand guy mad.

"Sorry." The gorilla said monotonously, because he hadn't thought of that at all. As called, Aguila, Gato and Serpiente suddenly appeared and of course noticed the dirty floor.

"We have more bad news." Announced the bird person and tried to pay no attention to the floor.

"Say how it is! But quickly, because Mono still has something to do here."

"We may have another slight problem. Gato will explain it this time." Besides, the feathered wondered why the other didn't say everything himself.

"They're almost to Olympus!" Announced General Gato a little timidly and Chronos hurriedly looked back at the still wet monkey.

"And you didn't notice that, you uselessness one of a.." The master of time took a deep breath and let go of Mono.

"Anyway. Serpiente will take care of them soon enough." The intended person slithered to their master.

"You called me front, Lord Chronosss?"

"That's the way it is."

"It isss my time to go now, isssn't it?"

"Yes, these fellowship mammals have been a thorn in my eye for at least twelve days or so. Now, it's time to give them a taste of their medicines. Some poisonous medicine."

"That is my specialty, my lord."

"You will attack them while they are looking around in Olympus. Ambush them when they're near the relics."

"Well ... I sssay you got the right general for the job." And she snaked away with it. Chronos watched her happily until she disappeared from his sight.

"Sending a female out to do my bidding - that was so easy, I almost feel guilty. She will do her job better than you two idiots." He scolded again and sent everyone out except the gorilla because he got a mop and a bucket of water in his hands to clean the floor.

* * *

**GrayestLobster7:** And so, with the Fellowship making their way to Olympus, destiny is on their side, but however, they're not the only ones going to Olympus, Serpiente is catching up to them as we speak. What would happen in Olympus? Would there be a warm welcome? Would Serpiente be defeated? Would the relics from Grayson's teaching be found and collected? Stay tuned as the journey continues on "The Battle Against Chronos: The Relic War."

**evil-catgirl:** I'm sorry to write that here, but this will be the last chapter of the story for now. And I can't say when I will be back. Take care of yourselves. Only go out when it really has to be. I know it's hard for some. But please do not take the virus lightly and secretly organize parties, it will definitely hit the wrong ones in the end. It's not fake, it's very serious and real. And just because they say older people are more affected doesn't mean you can't get it no matter what age you are. So stay at home, read fanfictions (of people who find time to write and have not lost their job because of this world problem) and do not forget to wash your hands :)


	4. The Relic Hunt (Part 1)

The thirty three days went away and little did our heroes know that they have arrived at their desired destination.

"Okay, so then I said 'That's no bird, that's my friend!" The raccoon told some jokes and stories to some boys help bridge the time gap. So they laughed a little together after all the changes in the past few days. In addition, some were slowly no longer able to stand the water.

"Boys!" Buck interrupted the funny round, with the spider and the turquoise rabbit in tow. Land was finally in sight. So that one, they wanted to head for.

"You may want to take a look at this." And King asked the animals to finally move up because the weasel just jumped around happily and explained nothing further.

"What? What is it?" Because Louis was so small and had to push himself through, he didn't recognize everything at once.

"Look! There it is!" Diego was amazed when the ship quickly came closer to the dazzling city of Olympus.

"Yay!" Flynn cheered enthusiastically.

"We finally made it!" Scrat was also thrilled. Also because they finally get solid ground under their paws again.

"Guess things are turning good for the better after all." Because Gavin had had enough of all the water. Their diet was getting too fishy for him. It wasn't long before Grayson steered the Pathfinder to the docks and everyone was already impatiently trampling to finally get off the ship and explore everything new.

"See, guys? I told you we'd make it." That was the only thing Manny could think, because he felt a little scared about this new place. Everything seemed to glitter and blink as if to beautify ugly spots. Maybe he was just imagining things and his stomach feeling was just an upset stomach because the rocking on the sea was starting to bother him. Nevertheless, it was important to be careful.

As the big plank goes down, Scrat was about to go, but Gertie stepped on him, because she was so excited to finally see something new and she wanted to explore everything with Louis.

"Outta my way, guys! I wanna see the city!" When she said it, she heard the scream that came from her feet

"Ow! Gertie, you should watch where you're go-" And then the next animal cam on that went just over him. Meghan only had the glitter of the place in her eyes.

"Oh, now you're just being stub-" Buddy also stepped on the poor squirrel because he only looked up.

"Oh come on!" The little boy complained. Well, he tried in the whole trample noise.

"Wait up, guys!" Even Diego ignored the little guy. Probably a bit on purpose, because Scrat clung too much to Shira and the saber tooth became a little bit jealous. But he wouldn't admit it out loud.

"Manny ... please ... help me ..." Scrat was gasping for air and the oldest mammoth saw it immediately because he was in no hurry.

"Oh, Scrat ..." The taller guy took him up with his trunk and puts him on top of his head.

"You still have to learn that you should never push yourself in front of an excited crowd, because with your size it is dangerous." Manfred taught the stepped on animal, although at the same time he thought that this should already know something like that.

"Thanks, Manny. I was just too hasty and didn't immediately think of being overrun."

"Well, stay up there, nobody will overrun you there." And so Manny also went off the ship. Just like a few more after him.

"After you, gorgeous." After a loud clearing of the throat, Grayson drew attention to himself.

"Aww ..." Coco laughed lovingly at him when she realized that she was turning her eyes away from him too long to look at something. There was still an embarrassed smile and stares until Julian came over.

"Does someone need a few tips?" The mammoth wanted to know with a grin, between the two.

"No." Peaches said and pushed her husband on because he was holding up all the traffic and not everyone could just jump off the ship like some pirates. She could dare, but now she didn't feel like pulling Julian out of the water because he will surely imitate it. It takes a while to dry a mammoth's fur and she wants to do other things now.

"But.."

"No buts! They can do it on their own." Peaches said. The raccoon and Coco followed the two, because if they both stay here, the mood will not improve.

* * *

When everyone from the Fellowship finally left the ship and managed to get to the city wall, they stopped. First, to be amazed and second to advise how to proceed now.

"Maybe I'm not an expert as a city inspector, but this is gigantic and pompous." Squint gave his opinion prematurely, but they are all still in front of it.

"Well, let me put it this way, once we see the eight gods or any of the local yokels, we'll tell them about our dire situation at hand." Buckminster didn't really pay attention to the pirate hare when he announced what they should do now. Before the youngest sloth in the round could chatter something too, an arrow landed at his feet. With a cry, in higher tones, Sid jumped into his girlfriend's arms. Everyone else finally stopped talking and looked in the direction of where the shot came from. At the top of the wall two animals seemed to be on guard.

"I didn't want to hit you at all, but I couldn't get your attention otherwise. So who are you and what do you want here?" A Spartan archer asked from above.

"Mammoths coming without provoke? Sabers prowling about at daytime? What's next?!" Added his colleague, who swung a sword around in a little bad mood.

"How about weasels with different items?" Buck raised a question.

"And what do we have also here? Is that a little raccoon, who wants to steal our treasures? Don't you ever learn? I know how you are, intruders." Apparently the archer was already acquainted with some raccoons.

"I'm not a thief, I'm actually a very well-known hero and we're not intruders! We're here to join the rebels against Chronos. It's the god of time you all should be worried about."

"Chronos? The god of time? Show us some proof that you have encountered him before." The archer commanded and some animals sighed at the bottom of the walls. Nothing with just walking through the city and admiring everything, as the mood takes you.

"Heh. As if I would believe and allow ... Wait, let me count them. Ten mammoths, six sabers, four weasels, three Dino Birds, three sloths, two possums, two rabbits, two flying fish, a giant Baryonyx, a molehog, an ape, a kangaroo, an elephant seal, a badger, a boar, a blue-footed seabird, a llama, a sabertooth squirrel, a raccoon and a tarantula. I wouldn't just let all of you into our city." The swordsman would be for some action, because it has been boring here lately.

"Try saying that again with a knife in your throat!" Cried Squint annoyed and wanted to throw his weapon, but Steffie stopped him. More because the female mammoth was pushed by Katie, and the blonde didn't get to the angry bunnies so quickly.

"Stop that! We shouldn't provoke anything." The bright mammoth looked at the pirate in punishment, while Steffie just rolled her eyes because she didn't care about that. Squint crossed his paws and grimly muttered something unintelligible.  
The whole thing was disturbed by someone else. A mysterious Spartan with a golden helmet, golden armor, a red cape and gladiator sandals joined to the archer and the swordsman.

"Is there a problem here?" The new stranger asked and glanced at the travelers.

"These animals tend to attack our city, sir!" One of the guards explained with a bow and arrow, but in a moderate voice.

"Really? They don't seem that hostile to me." The guy in the more gold outfit let out.

"We're not. We wish to join your city." Called Grayson honestly to avoid further misunderstandings. Everyone went silent shortly afterwards.

"ATTACK!" But it didn't take long for the Spartans to start screaming in the air, and some in the troop wondered what they had on the wall just against raccoons.

"So Grayson, what's the new plan for us now?" The molehog inquired, while his girlfriend made sure that he got not hit if more arrows should fly. But those up there were apparently busy with screaming and raging.

"I don't know. Let me think for a moment."

"If they want a raccoon that bad, they can have it and we can walk on without him." Soto suggested without grimacing. Some then looked thoughtfully at the guy mentioned.

"Hey, you are not really thinking about doing that? I mean, you need me for this heroic thing. I am the hero here! You only got this far because of me. I …"

"Hold on to your strips, Grayson. Nobody wants to redeem you here as an entry. We can think of something else." Manfred interrupted the raccoon before he talked himself over the head and fur.

"We better think fast." Because Teddy saw that the others on the wall were slowly becoming more. It could rain arrows on them right away and everyone could be hit immediately as close as they are standing to the city.

Something else was going on up there between the warriors. An otherwise reserved Spartan soldier appeared and pushed himself forward to see some of the strangers at the gate.

"The Fellowship!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"What?" Another Spartan wanted to know. Crowds and cries quickly decreased.

"They're the chosen ones against Chronos, the God of Time!" The Spartan who recognized our group explained further.

"Meaning?" The swordsman from before now came back.

"These guys are not villainous imposters. They're flipping real, guys."

"Okay, let them in." The man in gold immediately instructed.

"But sir-" The archer wanted to throw some arguments against it, but didn't get around to it.

"Now!" It was then loudly and clearly ordered for everyone.

"Fine, come on in. Let them in, Felix!" It was called to someone the animals could not see in front of the gate.

"Dang." The one with a sword swore softly that his superior couldn't hear it.

"Aww, that sucks, big time." A spearman let his frustration out a little louder.

"Aww geez, I haven't cracked open a skull in ages." A Spartan ruffian almost whined to his colleagues.

"Well, how the hell should we have known that they the real deal?" This guy gestured with several knives because otherwise he would no longer need these things today.

"Your mom saw them as the real deals, you shmuck! You should've been reading books since you were a little kid." Another Spartan said, looking very much like an executor. But he did not dare to interrupt the guy in gold earlier and utter these words to him, because he didn't want to do his job on himself. Because his opponent was still looking at him stupidly, he got a head nut with the wooden handle of his ax.

"Wow." Albert was amazed.

"So ... many ... gold ..." The spider found it no less fascinating how everything glittered.

"Now, listen up, soldiers! The Fellowship has arrived and our glorious future is on the rise. We can all stand proud. When they defeat the evil time keeper, it will be time for a new beginning. Heroes of Olympus!" A Spartan hare raised his sword high, as other warriors imitated him. Manny did not get away from keeping an eye on every stranger. He couldn't imagine that they could just walk through here easily.

"They seem ready." And attacking anyone who moves the wrong way, Ethan thought the rest just to himself.

"Very." Roger didn't want to make these people an enemy either and end up at the end of a spear.  
A human villager in a toga was helping a mammoth family with some fruit baskets.

"Here you go. Dozens of fruits." Said an Olympian Villager.

"Thank you." A mammoth father, who stood in front of his family, thanked him and looked at our herd. He immediately praised them.

"Glory to the Fellowship!"

"They look even better in real life." The woman stepped forward.

"You can defeat Chronos and his generals! I know you can!" One of the children called to them.

"And save the world from a temporal armageddon." Added the other more shyly.

"Yup! That's us!" Grayson stretched out his arms because he was enjoying this trip again. To be cheered on was one of his favorite hobbies.

"I hope we can save our valley in the next eighty eight days, otherwise we'll fail." Sid reminded him that they had time for things like that later.

"If Chronos gets us all, my last words will be 'I told you so.'" Squint really couldn't help but comment because they weren't heading fast for their next destination.

"And if we survive and defeat Chronos, the team will disband and we have to fight each other once more." Ethan looked grimly at the monkey he still didn't like.

"Not true, Grayson told all of the villains, even me, that we can redeem ourselves by defeating Chronos." Gutt explained as nicely as possible.

"The raccoon ain't lyin ', mate." Raz had to support her captain, although he could very well lie.

"And he promises us what we like." The pirate rabbit had to grin a little.

"Our bounty from long ago." Meant the head of the pirates.

"Break our meat eating habits." Soto found that a little ridiculous because he enjoyed hunting. Where would saber-toothed tigers be without their instincts?

"And break our predatory behaviors." It came from Cretaceous and Maelstrom almost simultaneously. Rudy nodded there too, although he also thought it was senseless.

"And just now, he taught me how to think of others as well, especially in this time of crisis. Crane bird! " The Shangri Llama does the crane style to underline his sentence.

"Very convincing." Diego didn't believe any of this. Pirates who are suddenly good and helpful and carnivores who only eat salad? Other things are more likely to happen.

"Yeah, I can be very persuasive." With a swollen chest, the raccoon stroked his head fur back and a certain mammoth stared at him again.

"Indeed, this raccoon doesn't go back on promises." Gupta had to peeve the other striped a little.

"Hey, I do hold on that what I promise." Grayson called to the badger a little offended.

"Just like any other hero would do." Tara found that a little boring.

"Precisely." The heroic raccoon thought to himself that others didn't really know what his life was like. To be a hero is not easy.

When our group finally turned their attention elsewhere, while walking on, they noticed that many humans and animals were heading in a certain direction.

"Whoa, hey, where are you guys going?" Because Sidney had a celebration in mind.

"To the big ceremony." An Olympian mini sloth looked back and answered his question.

"The Greek Gods will be attending, you all should come too. You are the fellowship, are you not?" A male Olympian saber tooth looked at her a little confused, as if they should all know what is happening now.

"Yeah, we are." Ethan, who was at the front, tried to sort this out quickly.

"Then get a move on." The stranger demanded and just walked away. After the new goal was clarified for now, the fellowship continued to walk on.

Roger tried to play the gentleman now and bowed a little to his loved one.

"After you, gorgeous." Flirting was still not easy for him, but at least he didn't stumble as often.

"Oh, Roger, you sure know how to please a girl." Kathie giggled.

"Good thing my giant acorn's back on the ship. Otherwise, it would be really weird." Scrat didn't want to have to watch out for it all the time.

"Tell me about it." Peaches sighed, because the squirrel probably didn't remember that they had to persuade him to leave the treasure on the ship because it was useless ballast.

* * *

As the Fellowship made it to the center of Olympus, eight beings appeared almost before them. They were now at a viewing area or something like an arena. When you saw so much new things like this group, it was a little difficult to describe things exactly. It all came so quickly for some of them. Manny tried to stay calm and keep everyone together. Even if his followers were getting really strange.

These beings they met now were not normal, he knew that at one glance. Yes, some of them looked very human, but maybe that should only be deceiving.  
One came across as very muscular. With white-hair, a full grown beard and white glowing eyes. He wore a white Olympian toga and more gold accessories like arm braces, right shoulder armor and Olympian boots.

The second person is also another human looks almost the same as the first on, but younger. He had brown lint on his head and blue eyes. He was dressed in shiny atlantean armor and armored foot wraps.

The third one had no hair on its face and looked even younger than its predecessor. Red eyes and a quiff made him noticeable. Boney armor adorned his torso, with a black coat covering up the armor and black boots.

The fourth person appears to be a woman. White hair framed her beautiful face. She was fair skinned and wore a white Olympian dress and sandals.  
The fifth in the line was like a brawny barbarian. With orange armor and a yellow cape. This man has a short beard. The hair is also kept short. And he was standing there in gladiator boots.

Human number six looked like a teenage boy with fiery hair. His eyes looked normal, yellow in color. He dressed in a toga, a white and gold scarf, brown leather arm braces and golden winged boots.

The seventh appearance looks almost like its predecessor but a bit older and more charming. They wore a gold Olympian armor again. Combined with a red cape and some gladiator boots.

And the last one was a young woman too. Her brown and braided hair shimmered in the sun. She was walking around in an aquamarine Olympian armor set.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Olympus! Im proud to give you ... the Greek Gods of Olympus. Here come Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hercules, Hermes, Helios and Athena!" Out of nowhere someone suddenly roared around and the friends realized that it was an excited sloth that presented the strangers before them. Other animals and people around applauded as if something wonderful had already happened. Manfred didn't quite understand the excitement yet.

"Hey!" The guy at the front, who probably represented this Zeus, waved and smiled confidently into the crowd. Then he made a gesture with his arm down and the loud voices around them fell silent.

"Listen up, mortal humans and animals!" The man started his speech clearly so that everyone would pay attention.

"Strength! Courage! Fearlessness! These traits are our gifts to you all for all eternity! Our very blood has been running through your veins. That is what we celebrated every year before the Fellowship arrives! And here they are now!" As the sentence was finished, the Olympian residents began to cheer.

"Guys, we got an audience." Squint said, but you could hardly understand him with the noise. It became quieter again around the admired animals.

"But first and foremost, it is our blood that makes you all the greatest mortals of all Olympus." This Zeus continued to speak cunningly and the crowd raged again.

That seemed to have been it and these gods turned to leave again.

Although our troop tried to draw attention to themselves after this speech, because these were definitely the beings they should seek out about Chronos. But the matter turned out to be difficult in the crowd of cheering creatures. Even the loudest animal drowned in the excited screams. Manny sighed and looked for help at his buddies. They didn't really know what to do either and shrugged their shoulders. So they had to find another way to their destination.

"You know Grayson, I've got to admit the journey is going to be a good one. But we could really spare us the extra ways." Manfred had to complain a little, because the gods were almost in front of them and then they just leave without really looking around.

"And we didn't come here if it weren't for you." Added Roger as a compliment for the raccoon.

"Thanks guys. But you have to see, my pachyderms, that gods like these don't just rush into the crowd. A little more thinking and walking doesn't hurt any of us." Grayson told because something like that kept the body and the brain fit. After all, he knew his way around. The oldest mammoth refrained from rolling his eyes because he could actually do without more sport.

A slightly chubby female sloth with shiny quartz fur was watching them silently. She spotted Scrat and got excited barely noticeably and gently kicked her feet on the spot.

"So, uh, now what?" Threw the squirrel questioningly around. Elric jumped on Gavin's head without thinking about it. Just to be taller.

"My weasel soul senses that we need to find Hermes first." He touched his forehead in meditation.

"Sound ok according to me. We have to start somewhere. But do you know what all weasels should stop?" The raptor took the weasel from its head and all the specimens addressed looked at him waiting.

"We are NOT jumping on Uncle Gavin's head anymore. He'll get a migraine from it!" The dino explained emphatically.

"I can't promise anything." Buck answered honestly, trying not to laugh.

"Just don't do it!" Gavin scolded the annoyed weasel for always being a thorn in his side.

"Oh, come on. You know you like it." Buckminster grinned after all and teased the raptor's beak with his paw.

"Shut up and stay away from me!" The scaly one was now really upset. His children were just holding him back from going after the weasel with the eye patch.

Tara stood a little disappointed at the scene, which she didn't really let out on the outside, but she wasn't allowed to hop on the dinosaur's head yet. She should probably have seized the opportunity sooner.

The bickering was then interrupted by the female sloth looking at them the entire time. The animal with the quartz-colored fur ran up to the fellowship, looking friendly.

"Forgive my impertinence but, you are a sabertooth squirrel, are you not?" The stranger asked Scrat and looked at him happily.

"And how'd ya guess?" The squirrel threw back a question a little confused because someone was running so close to him and he got slight flashbacks from other events.

"I knew it! I knew it! My prayers have been answered!" She squeaked happily.

"Name's Debbie, and on behalf of all Earth and nature, I welcome you to our fair Olympian city. O 'friend from a valley far, far away." Then she hugged the little one happily.

"My name's Scrat, and um ... gee, thanks, means a lot." Introduced the embarrassed and smaller animal itself, between the cuddles.

"Scrat, huh?" Without being asked, she stroked the bushy tail of the little one.

"You are like so cute and so soft." Debbie said ecstatically.

"He is, Debbie. Would you like to join our group?" The approaching Brooke suggested, because the more the better, in her eyes.

"Hey, what about finding Hermes now?!" Grayson reminded everyone that they had other plans besides standing around here.

"You want Hermes, you got him. I'll join you guys. Follow me." With that, the newcomer made off with Scart and the others had to see that they could follow her as quickly as possible.

"Perfect." Soto spoke more to himself. Actually he didn't want to move any further, because he got a good look at a silver-gray tigress from his place. Maybe he should shake off these thoughts, because he didn't want to cause trouble and she was forgiven and that to Diego of all tigers. But his gaze fell on this woman again and again. It was probably just because he hadn't had anyone by his side for a while.

"Come on, guys! Come with me!" The quartz-colored sloth called shrilly in the direction of the growing herd and finally everyone ran in her way.

"Follow zat sloth! Never mind that she loves sabertooth squirrels, but she's our only lead on Hermes!" Silas tried not to look too closely as the poor squirrel was being cuddled all the time.

While following Debbie, some use the time to chat among themselves. Like, for example, the young Dakotaraptor and a brightly colored mammoth, who liked to take every opportunity when Gavin wasn't watching them.

"Katie, do you think Hermes is really down this path?" Because he didn't think that a divine being lived just around the corner. Admittedly, he didn't think much about gods beforehand either, that he could know more.

"We just follow this squirrel lover. What can go wrong there?" She replied and Gutt, who was within earshot, probably didn't think wasted time was counted as problematic.

"Perhaps Hermes got wind of our plan and is probably waiting for us somewhere around here." Or so the dinosaur hoped.

"We'll see when we get there." Katie added.

"OK." Her trunk held Roger's body while they walked on and it didn't bother them in the least that someone could see them.

"I love you, Roger."

"I love you too, Katie." And he kissed her trunk gently, whereupon she grinned slightly blushing.

"My son really loves Katie." Gavin said proudly.

"Just like Peaches loves Julian." Manfred heard the older dino by chance and joins them while hiking.

"You know what?"

"Yes, Gavin?" The mammoth looked down.

"You and I aren't so different after all. Our children are chasing after love and still working together with their friends and lovers. How do they do it?" The scaled one inquired of the larger one.

"Well, it's easy, they're younger than us, some of them know better and some of them don't." The pachyderm replied to his newest buddy.

"And I've learned a lot since Peaches is with Julian, Manny." Suddenly Ethan got involved in the conversation.

"Yeah. And Ethan? I am so sorry about what happened back in the Falls during the Continental Drift. It's been frustrating not to have someone trust you, but seeing you taking care of Scrat as a friend? I'm proud of you for that. You put aside the old you and let your new self step in." The older one honestly admitted and looked at the red-brown mammoth.

"Thanks, Manny." Ethan tried to react coolly and gave the other one a little trunk-bump in the side.

"Don't overdo it." Manfred warned calmly.

"OK." And with that, the younger man again distanced himself from the head of the herd so as not to make the whole thing even more embarrassing.

"The wind is speaking to my soul, we're nearing Hermes soon enough." Elric clung to Sid's neck as if this were a tree and looked out for that Hermes guy.

"Great." Sid mentioned this a little negatively.

"If we don't complete this quest, we'll end up dying like those dried out losers." He said that more to himself. Tara suddenly laughed at it.

"What the heck is so funny?" Because the sloth didn't see anything funny about it.

"I've heard about the courage, the wits and the strength of the Fire King, but you have none of the above. You just howl, whine and are pretty clumsy all the time. I happen to find that very funny." It came out of the female weasel a little know-it-all.

"Considering how your other family is like." She still said as if she really had better ideas.

"So I'm a joke to you? Everything I do is a sick joke to you? Why'd you come along with us if you think I'm lying so much? What's your beef with me?!" The sloth lost its temper a little, because she didn't have the right to address him like that. What did this lady think who she is? She didn't know anything about him or his family.

"That's my business!" Thereupon the warrior weasel got ready to fight when this non-expert dared to yell at her. A king should be able to do more than what this slacker put up here. The portrayal offends her honor because it contradicts everything she heard about the legend. The naming of the fire king must have been a fatal mistake if someone asked her.

The two stopped and fought a stare duel. Each of the two was focused on attacking at the slightest twitch. Manfred and others sighed, because they didn't have the time for such kindergarten games.

"Hey, you shouldn't waste your energy on this. Come on, make up." Ellie stepped between the brawlers and she was wondering when the first argument would start again. With so many different animals in one group, you can imagine that sooner or later differences of opinion will arise.

"She is right, my dear. Do you treat a lady like that?" Brooke also joined in, because she didn't want her sloth to hurt himself. Again. This interrupted his evil look and began to wail around her shoulder.

"But she started it. So mean."

"What a whimper." Tara really thought it would have been smart to say that near Brooke. With a sugar-sweet smile, the female sloth patted the back of her boyfriend and then looked the warrior in the eyes without changing her face.

"We're all nice to each other because we don't want anything to happen to anyone here." She said to Tara, who has not been threatened so brightly in her entire life.

"Wow." Thought the shield-maiden a little surprised when she could only agree with a nod before the sloths ran on and took their distance.

"Everyone stop!" The fellowship did that abruptly after a few moments when almost everyone was preoccupied with themselves. Elric announced this, for he had noticed that her new guide had reached her destination. So he now pointed to Hermes, who was nibbling an apple along the way. The god looked over at them all, not really astonished, and played with his coin with his free hand. Without looking he tossed the thing in the air and caught it every time.

"Greetings, mortals. I got wind of your plan, that you want my boots and my coin, as well as the other relics to defeat Chronos and his followers." Hermes greeted them, looking bored with his demeanor.

"Yeah." Answered Diego first, definitely because no one else knew what to say.

"I know Chronos. He's so awful. My family was killed when I was little. Luckily there was someone who found me when I was wounded and decided to take me in. Otherwise I would not have survived and would have died out there. Maybe it's not clear to you all, but he craves the souls of all mammals in this world, and so far, no one's been able to stop him." It seemed important to Debbie that everyone realized the gravity of the situation. The god just sighed, because he already knew this history and others around here. When the last bite of his fruit was gone in his stomach, he decided to take a closer look at these travelers. He looked at each one from top to bottom, which the troops only realized as a ray of light that jumped back and forth between them.

"And which is why you want the relics to end this atrocity and restore normalcy and peace." Hermes explained when he finished his checkup.

"You got us there, speedy." Buck gave him the thumbs up.

"Well, if you want my stuff, you'll have to race me across the town and back to the city market. If you win, I'll give you my trinkets. But if you lose, you will have to pick some fruits for me to make the running more pleasant." The weasel's thumbs went down at the god's words, because that didn't sound fair or easy. How do you beat someone who was faster than everyone else, he wondered, and the others must be thinking the same thing. Probably not any of them.

"Okay, you got a deal." Because Scrat just agreed and put out his paw, which the divine guy shook quickly.

"Perfect." Hermes grinned, because finally a little variety was the order of the day.

Scrat, Diego, Shira, Squint, Roger, Soto, Tara, Teddy were at the start line in the stadium faster than wanted and had to warm up to defeat this god. Then a shiny cockroach came up to a microphone and began to speak as if he had already announced and commented on such events.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! To the annual Olympus 900!" The crowd cheered wildly on that and our troop wondered how they got so quickly in the middle of a crowd again. Surely the residents here had nothing else to do.

"In the annual Olympus 900. Only once, every year ..." The others talked amongst themselves at the starting line while the Sportscaster speaks about this event.

"The Olympus 900? What does that mean?" Scrat wanted to know because he'd never heard that before.

"It means how many competitors tried to beat me, but none have won. But with you guys here, this'll be a cinch." Hermes declared a little deliberately and coolly.

"Time to give him the Achilles Heel." Squint grinned and spoke more to himself.

"Squint, no sabotaging the race. I want it to be clean. No dirty stuff, no shenanigans and no monkey business." Roger explained and looked apologetically at Gutt for the last words because this gave him a fleeting glare.

"Fine, fine. Let's do this race clean. Hell, give me some freshly picked apples and nice coconut water, then I'll be running faster than Hermes in no time." The pirate bunny pretty bragged.

"That's the spirit, Squinty! Now let's get out there and outrun that speedster!" The young dinosaur said with a laugh and the rabbit pokes him in the side again, probably because of the nickname.

"People! Mammals! Let's get ready to RUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN!" The cockroach announced and had a really deep voice, for the size. The crowd cheered loud on that again.

"Three! Two! One! Go!" Counted the insect off. As soon as the last word left the little mouth, Hermes started running.

"See ya later, ninnies!" He could be heard calling.

"Oh no, you don't! I'll be first!" Squint too was moving quickly.

"Not if I can be first!" Teddy intervened, who didn't keep himself fit.

"Wait, hold on! I must be in first!" Tara should probably have ditched her stuff before deciding to race.

"Just beat that speedster!" Diego called to remind everyone that nobody should be here to quarrel. Shira thought it best not to comment and concentrate on the run.

"Remember, no fallbacks, and no retreats!" Soto took part for two reasons. Get rid of a little excess energy and because of the beautiful tigress he was running after.

"They're right, guys. We can beat Hermes!" Scrat shouted confident of victory, but seemed almost last in line. It went on like this for a while, until the first gradually couldn't take it any longer. But suddenly the eight mammals began to get faster without running out of breath or breaking a sweat.

"Whoa, what's happening?" The squirrel inquired because it was becoming more nimble again.

"I'm no expert on magic or a shaman, but I think Olympus' magical energy is surging inside us fast runners so we can beat Hermes!" The pirate bunny explained his logic.

"Yes! Wish me luck guys! See ya at the finish line!" Answered the smaller one and put even more speed on it.

"Good luck, Scrat!" Roger wished him as he passed like the wind.

"Heeheeheehee, I win .." Meanwhile, Hermes was running triumphantly and singing a song to himself, because he found this again too monotonous. Suddenly Scrat rushed past him unexpectedly, which made him stumble and roll.

"OHHH SHOOT!" God only exclaimed.

"I won!" The elephant cried enthusiastically as it crossed the finish line.

"Scrat! The sabertooth squirrel wins the race!" The cockroach reported it so that everyone could understand what was happening. All of the Fellowship members applauded and were happy.

"Wait. Where's Hermes?" Seffie wanted to know now, because she wanted to laugh at the loser.

"Oh, there he is." Buck pointed to the guy who was rolling towards the goal until Ellie stopped him by her right foot.

"Uh ... What in mommy's name, how did I lose?" Hermes couldn't understand his defeat. The rest of the participants also slowly came in.

"Olympus' magic surges through us fast runners, Hermes." Said Diego because he had heard that earlier. But it didn't really make sense to him, but he should go back to his wife, who was being stared at again.

"Okay, you beat me fair and square. I doubt you guys would be lucky against Chronos." Hermes sighed and took the stuff that was promised and looked at them mischievously with a chuckle. But then he takes the relics out for them with a smile and handing it to the fellowship.

"Here are my boots and coin for your troubles. Heheheh." He felt dreadful.

"Ah brother ..." But breaking his promise and keeping it would certainly not look good. So complaining didn't do him much good either. Even at his age. Sooner or later he expected that the relics would have to go.

It didn't take long before a decision was made who got the price. Diego was given the shoes and the coin, although the saber tooth seemed unsure how the feet parts should fit on his paws at all. The saber-toothed squirrel didn't want to hear about it and helped him to get dressed. When the relic first came into contact with him, the sandals suddenly split into four parts with a bright glow. The brightness quickly decreased and now this relic looked more useful for the big cat. It just had to be tied around his legs, which almost happened by itself when Scrat put a shoe around his first paw.

"Whew, that's just about that." Said the squirrel when his work on the saber tooth was done. The larger animal admired itself and found nothing new, as initially thought. Except that his legs now looked more adorned. He gazed at his wife.

"Suits you." Shira gave him a compliment.

"Thanks. Now let's test them out." He took out the magic coin and tossed it into the air, where it spun quickly. Then the big cat ran, around the field and around his herd and caught the piece of gold again. It all happened in an instant. Those who blinked missed it.

"Wow. Godspeed, Diego. Godspeed." Grayson was a little amazed at the presentation of the tiger.

"Now it's saber-tooth speed. Well, at least for me." Diego had to be careful not to be too happy like a small child, because from now on he could move so quickly.

"Don't show off." Shira warned him with a grin, because of course she was happy with her partner.

"Uh, excuse me. Uh, hello?" The group didn't have much time to marvel at the big cat with the relics, when a strange voice came up again.

"Hmm? Where did that come from?" Buck inquired.

"I think the little guy over here wants something from us." Julian pointed to a strange saber-toothed squirrel and everyone else turned to face it.

"Forgive me for barging into your group, but are you the Fellowship by any chance?" Wanted to know the very young looking squirrel.

"Yes, yes we are." Grayson pushed his way through mammoths and sloths.

"Great. Listen, I'm Ronal and Hercules requests your presences at the Olympian Arena." Introduced the little animal itself and that irritated some of them.

"I thought we were there already?" Ethan was the first to utter the question.

"No. You are still standing on my little running place." Hermes announced, still pouting a little in the corner.

"OK. Then we'll just go where we're supposed to go next." Grayson announced loudly and clearly and the rest nodded in agreement, because they really didn't have a choice.

"Hey Scrat, I think we found your brother." Squint joked because the two squirrels looked a little alike.

"Whoa, hold on! We're not family, we're just the same species, that's all." The stranger declared, a little offended.

"Yeah, I really don't know this guy. Besides, I don't understand why you're not chatting with Teddy constantly, when he's your cousin?" Added Scrat as a counterattack.

"Huh?" The pirate hare glanced at the turquoise animal to silently check whether they are both related. Teddy just shrugged. It would be possible because every rabbit had a huge family.

"He is from the weird relatives that color their fur. I don't chat with such nuts."

"And I told you about my carrot salad recipe." Said the turquoise long-eared one, played disappointed.

"From me you can strengthen family ties on the way. Hercules wants the Fellowship, so we should hurry." Buckminster joined the conversation because they were wasting time again.

"Great, follow me." And this time Ronal led the growing group.

"Augh, again with the following? And then again someone stranger we don't know?" Gavin complained, but took off slowly anyway.

"Come on Dad, we can't be late!" His son only said and passed the older Dino.

"I'm coming, Roger. I'm coming. Don't get your feathers in a pluck."

* * *

Meanwhile, Serpiente was in a garden not far from the heroes. The only thing that separated them was a hedge, which she could peer past. She had the advantage that these animals did not know her before. So it was not even noticed that she was watching these creatures, because so did others who saw this large group wandering around.

"Chronossss, I found the Fellowssship. They are heading to the Olympian Arena to meet Herculesss. It's probably about his sword now." The serpent creature spoke to Chronos over a shining crystal ball.

"Perfect. And I sense that Diego is wearing Hermes' boots after Scrat won the race. I'm impressed. Really, I am. Scrat is the first animal ever to win the 900 race." Chronos didn't think that was so great, because he would surely have made it too. But the gods never wanted to play with him. Certainly because he is far too good for them.

"Indeed, he doessss." Serpiente answered shortly, because she didn't care about such things.

"Well, I need you to follow them. Without being seen, of course. And no, no, no! Don't engage them. Stealth is our watchword. They have no idea of our real plan. Contact me when you got the relics. Operation: New Era is underway."

"Whatever you sssay, my lord." She finished the call and snaked calmly after her enemies.

* * *

The Fellowship made it to the arena pretty quickly, because it was in the same city. They saw strong animals and humans doing sports with weapons and training for a fight. Dumbbells and hand or paw crafted workout machines. Everything your heart desires was available here for fitness. A purple sloth had to hold her boyfriend back from trying everything right away. Gladys whispered to him that there was still time for that and gave him a kiss on the cheek to calm him down.

"Well ... this is barbaric." Sid had already seen a lot in the short time and now he had to discover such bad things as well. Living beings who enjoyed sports.

"No kidding." Manny added, because he didn't think this was very exciting. The guy who had ordered them here, Ronal pointed to this with his paw, was now swinging his sword against a gigantic beast. Apparently a training manikin. Destroyed the thing and then looked back at the Fellowship.

"I've been waiting for you guys. Heh, heard there some strong members in your tough troop."

"Yeah, we are. Why?" Gertie wanted to chat with a god too. In addition, she found the most interesting one to look at than the previous one. That was what a deity had to look like, in her opinion. Muscle packed and full of strength.

"Don't start drooling." Louis tried not to be jealous of this human-looking being.

"What you're doing right now doesn't suit you at all." At this sentence the molehog felt stupid for his behavior again.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to be like that." Because his girlfriend didn't do anything wrong.

"Oh come here you. You're so cute when you are like that." With that, the smaller one was pressed against a scaly chest.

"Gertie!" The prickly man complained, a little embarrassed.

"What?"

"We are not alone here!" It was only after he made that statement that the dinosaur noticed that everyone was looking at them.

"We stop that!" Then the father intervened and separated the two of them. Hercules then cleared his throat louder to get the attention again.

"I'm eager for a challenge. But you guys want my mighty two handed sword, right?" He just asked again to make sure.

"Yeah, so?" Interjected Sid.

"We'll have to fight for it in ..." The god paused dramatically.

"The Pit!" He then said as if that should be enough of an explanation. But only the residents of this place understood this remark and looked forward to this upcoming thing. The Pit was often called clearly from the crowd around them.

"Well, guys, you'll have to fight Hercules. While those who can't fight, well ..." The smaller one pointed to himself.

".. must be protected." He rather continued to whisper and such brutalities weren't for him.

"We shall win this fight, little Ronal!" Buck reassured him calmly, in what he considered to be a heroic pose. The young squirrel hoped to become fantastic one day, like the new animals around him. They all just met the god Hercules. Still, none of the stranger lost his composure. Almost everyone was the calm itself. Ronal found that enviable.

The audience that found themselves in the coliseum raised the alarm again, because they knew that they were about to see action again.

"This is a very tough crowd." Teddy looked around, because when they strolled in here it wasn't that crowded. Well, he paid attention to something else beforehand.

"I didn't think this is going to happen until now." Was Sid's comment on that.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Because so many animals have never stared at the young raptor.

"Don't be a patsy! There's no time to be sick, we have to fight." Of course, Steffie herself wouldn't move any hooves here. Others were responsible for that.

"Don't call him that!" Complained the lighter mammoth.

"Do you want to fight each other now, or what?" Inquired Maghan, who had Buddy in tow.

"Don't argue, girls. Let's do the next task first." The male mammoth pushed the two women apart with the difference of opinion. He couldn't say more about that, because the cockroach from before was already speaking through a microphone again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ... THE PIT!" Suddenly a giant round cage rose from the sand in the middle of the arena.

"Two teams enter, one team leaves! You all know the rules, there are none! But there is one for our mortal group fighting Hercules." The sportcaster insect looked at the challengers. Which consisted of Teddy, Steffie, Katie, Meghan, Buddy, Sid, Gertie, Louis, Roger, Grayson, Tara, Buck and Gutt.

"Don't die." Then tiny one added like it was normal here.

"We won't." And Grayson waved at the crowd because that's what he was best at.

"Ooh, entertainment of death and doom. I beheaded the Cerberus. Oh wait, no I didn't." King gazed at the reader's general direction.

"I wanna see some bloodstains on the battlefield!" Then he looked back at the others.

"As long as it doesn't stain my tarantula hairs."

"Choose your weapons!" Was then announced loudly by the arena spokesman and everyone involved chose something. Teddy took a crystal bo staff. Steffie picked out a sawfish katana sword. Katie found a conch shell bo staff for herself. Meghan got out a pufferfish warhammer. Buddy borrowed a conch shell sword, which can be wielded from with both sides. Sid was just spinning around and magically put on his Fire King outfit with two burning torches.

"The Fire King is angry. Prepare to get burned!" The sloth found this a skilful announcement and tried to look angry. But that didn't really work.

Gertie and Louis picked out matching weapons which consist of conch shell dual swords. Roger got out a sawfish epée. Grayson already had his conch shell bo staff in his paw. Tara had been standing ready to fight with her ax since they had entered the place. Buck swung around with his dinosaur tooth knife and of course the pirate fought with his two sawfish swords.

"Let's do this." Grayson shouted triumphantly to the others.

"I'll make this look easy." The god showed off and posed to show his muscles.

"Ready? FIGHT!" You heard the cockroach again and it started. Hercules charged at Grayson, but this deflected the attack with his own two paws.

"Saw it coming!" The raccoon betrayed.

"What?" The opponent wanted to follow up, but Grayson hit him with his conch shell bo staff eight times.

"My turn!" Teddy came over and struck with his crystal bo staff.

"Attack now, girls!" Steffie ran ahead of the other women.

"CHARGE!" Meghan joined with Katie behind her. The three female mammoths ran to their opponent with their weapons and attacked him all at once.

"Ooh, you ladies fight well! But it won't be enough to best me!" The god said a bit amused, but didn't count on Buddy, who rushed towards him with his sword.

"Ooh, felt that too!" Hercules really enjoyed this. When did you get the chance for such a fight? Sid also hit it. He tensed up his shoulders to make the attack more powerful, jumped way up high and burned the target.

"Nice fire, Sidney, but I don't go down that easily!" The challenged tried to swing the blade at the sloth and this reflected it every time.

"Oh, I won't be too sure about that, my friend!" Fire Lord fought with verve. Gertie and the Molehog attacked Hercules from behind. The other raptor flew high and dive bombed the god.

"Ha!" Roger trusted also with his epée.

"YAAAAAH!" Tara screamed at the top of her throat and swung her ax.

"Rrr! You know, you're very strong for a shield maiden." Hercules meant it in a good sense. You shouldn't talk badly about everything.

"I know." The female weasel had made fighting her hobby, which was always practiced when she was not eating, sleeping or doing other things. Buck intervened and slashed a cheek with his knife. The pirate monkey charged at the enemy and hit the chest with his sawfish blades. The god gin grunter, but only because they all struck by chance at the same time and some weapons were so shiny that the sun blinded him.

"Woo! I gotta admit, you have me beat. You guys put in some solid effort to never let your guard down. For that, you have my respect." He also admitted that he got a little out of breath. Not everyone can do it.

"You put up a good fight too." Gutt thought they should say something about it too, but his allies let almost all of them fall to the ground, from that to and fro. Except for Tara, who looked offended because it ended too quickly.

"Yeah, maybe I've not been eating a light breakfast. Well, here's my blade." With that, Hercules presented the sword to Buckminster.

"Chronos is a much bigger problem for you guys. He won't meet you like me. This being is much more tricky and sometimes grumpy." Was further reported.

"He knows his way around grumpy too." And Sid pointed to his mammoth buddy.

"Another line like this and you'll stay here for some more exercise." Manny threw back a little grimly.

"Nooooooo! Brooke, tell him he can't do this." The sloth threw itself whining on his girlfriend's shoulder. The defeated God, who watched all of this, just got a little doubt whether this really works with these animals and the salvation of the world.

"Guys!" Ronal hopped enthusiastically toward them and gave the weasel with the eye patch a high five.

"Nice work! You got Hercules' sword." The young squirrel was happy and forgot his fear from before.

"See? I told you we'll win." Buck pretended it was the easiest thing ever and the god in the background rolled his eyes at it. But he granted the troops victory, because worse things will happen to them.

"But one thing I don't get. Why didn't you help us?" Roger wanted to know curiously and didn't even think about the fact that younger living beings might also be afraid of brutal violence, like he used to when he was still a child.

"Guys, take a look at me. What can I do to harm a monster or villain? Flex these muscles and hope they laugh themselves to death?" Ronal admitted a little depressed that he is not the bravest and his tail went down to the ground.

"Gah! It doesn't look nice." Said the boy to himself when he noticed how pitiful this body part was hanging around.

"Ah, that's better." And he smoothed the fur on his tail.

"Listen, boy. Being a hero is all about guts rather than having muscles. It's about courage. So why not join us? Once you show you're a real hero, questing is fun, crushing enemies is easy." Manny said to the smaller one.

"Thank you." The little animal thought for a moment.

"I get that, and maybe it's just me. But you'll never know what could happen unless we can SERIOUSLY DIE FROM QUESTING!" Ronal suddenly got louder.

"Oh, just shut up and join us, pint-size!" The mammoth asked him.

"Okay, I will." With that the fellowship left the place of struggle, because they now had what they wanted and no longer had to linger here. Some stomachs growled loudly at each other and before anyone could object, Ellie decided that they could all need some refreshment first. After all, they shouldn't starve on the way. Debbie also immediately knew a place.

None of them could have guessed that someone was just waiting to visit them in a quieter part of town. Nobody could eat much because they heard a kind of hissing nearby.

"What was that?!" Sid's fur on his back of the neck stood up at the sound.

"I do not know." The young weasel replied innocently, as it was about to stick a sheet of leaf to the sloth with 'Kick me' written on it. But Sidney watched at Elric meditating, who really did this all the time when this didn't have to devote himself to other tasks.

"Hey Elric. Pst! Hey Elric! Psst!" Manfred looked back and forth between the two animals. There were only five steps in between and yet his buddy was too lazy to do them. No, he just ignores that, thought the mammoth.

"Ey, Elric? Meditation buddy? Hey, can't you hear me when I whisper to you?" The sloth found a small pebble and threw the thing at the weasel's head.

"Hmm? Huh? What?" The victim looked around confused.

"Hey, what's that sound?" Sid wanted to know and didn't notice that some other animals were already looking elsewhere.

"Oh, I sense ... a nasty voice in the wind." The weasel explained before a scaly tail wrapped itself around his neck.

"Hm? I wonder how you did it." Then she flicked Elric around without any effort. Peaches just managed to catch him on her hind legs and with the trunk before he slammed against a pointed stone wall.

"General Serpiente!" Grayson called out the name of the person who appeared. Everyone took a few steps away, because no one wanted to be whirled through the air or bitten by those poisonous-looking teeth that this lady showed with a slight smile.

"If you want to find the two next relicsss, you will have to defeat me firssst. Now, who will challenge me?" The heroic raccoon gazed at Ellie, Brooke, Shira, Gladys, Peaches, Coco, Gertie, Steffie, Katie, Meghan, Tara, Raz and Debbie.

"Ladies, huddle. I got a plan." He whispered at first, but nobody in the crowd heard that at first, so he repeated it louder.

"What is it?" But Gladys could already guess what the guy wanted. Grayson whispered into the female group. He knew that if Serpiente was going to run into male opponents, she wouldn't hesitate and kill immediately. Either with her poison or by strangling. The fellowship had to avoid that, so now only the women have to show what they can do. That was the only way they had a chance.

"Well?" The snake lady was impatient to grab an opossum.

"We're out." But the brothers quickly hid behind Ethan.

"We'll take care of this." Ellie spoke a word of power after the raccoon had sorted everything out. So all the ladies stepped up to Serpiente, who already thought it would be boring here.

"This is going to be so cool, ladies." Buddy cheered on his friends.

"I hope nobody gets hurt." Ronal had misgivings because, unlike Hercules, the scaly woman didn't look very nice.

"Don't worry, newbie. That'll be fine." After that, Albert gazed at Meghan and sighed happily.

"Ssso, a lady duel it isss. Well, then I don't have to hold back." The opponent didn't think much of the male sex, which was below her dignity. Only Chronos was on the same level as her.

"Just because yer a snake, yer a match fer us? Don't make me laugh." Raz called, ready to fight.

"Enough waiting around! Time to die!" The snake took stone tonfas out.

"Come on, snake! Let's rat!" Tara swung her beloved ax again.

"Be careful, she will use her poison!" Warned Grayson from the edge and earned an evil look from the snake lady for it. She slithered and shot her venom around, but each of them could still dodge it barely.

"No way you're poisoning me." Shira jumped aside and then intended to push the opponent. But the scaly woman escaped her smoothly by almost going to the ground and then coming up again.

"How about some ssssweet poisonous kissssesss?" And the challenger grinned so insidiously. She licked her mouth happily with her tongue and then over her sharp teeth, because she had already caught someone who wasn't careful with her long tail.

"Keep your snaky lips and snake tongue to yourself." Gertie screamed as she was drawn closer and closer to the poisonous lady. Firstly, she didn't think she would be caught in the air and secondly, that the snake's grip on her leg would be so strong. The Dakotaraptor bit and scratched the snakeskin, but it was of no use, it couldn't get rid of.

"Don't bother, dear." Serpiente opened his jaw while waiting to take a bite. But Ellie stepped on part of the snake tail that lay on the floor between Gertie and the opponent.

"Ssyah! No fair!" A cry of pain could be heard.

"How's this for fair? Shira!" Ellie wanted to tell her friend that she should attack now. The tigress ran to Serpiente and clawed at the face.

"Gssss!" The snake hissed, for one eye was almost blinded. Now Brooke came in and took out a crystal scythe to slit with.

"Get off me!" The big snake used her powerful tail to smack away the three animals that dared to get on her nerves and called for more snakes. For this, the lady put her tail on the ground and it started to glow light green.

"Tinker Toys, slow them down!" She ordered with a hiss and immediately these metal things appeared out of nowhere.

"AHHH! There!" Sid shouted, shivering in fear when he saw the horde of snakes, which stood out with their pale scales and glowing eyes. They moved very quickly.

"Time's up, let's do this!" The lilac-colored sloth charged at and attacked some Tinker Toys.

"Gladys the Sloth!" She added because she thought it sounded pretty cool.

"Oh my god, she just ran in! Let's help her!" Gertie genuinely underestimated Sid's grandmother, how blatant she could be at times. Peaches and she got there in time to help her, but Gladys nonetheless rammed into a big tinker toy, causing them to fall over like dominoes.

"Eugh!" The peach-colored mammoth immediately trampled on the metal lying around and after she flattened them all, she twisted her foot on one.

"Take that, and this, and that, and this!" Gladys was meanwhile bonking the heads of every snake with a crystal mallet.

"NOO!" Serpiente was out of the way.

"Steffie, Katie, Meghan, water!" Ellie called over to the girls.

"Bath time!" Announced the bright mammoth with a smile and the three shot water from their trunks, that they also took from large buckets of water.

"Rrrrrah!" The snake lady didn't find that amusing.

"I think we made her mad." Debbie recognized now.

"Ya think?" Peaches said, because it was obvious.

"I ssswear to Lord Chronosss, you will die for that!" Complained the big snake and slithered fast to them and tried to bite, but every time, she missed the target.

"HYAAAAAAAAH!" Tara wanted to play too and swung her bone ax two times into the poisonous opponent. The pirate kangaroo hoped on Serpiente six times and then kicked her away to Debbie. The sloth hummed a baseball organ tune when the snake was about coming closer to her. Then she took out a log from wherever and swung her counterpart into stands of the coliseum, which was still visibly nearby.

"Home run!" Said the sloth. Serpiente slithered back to the Fellowship and coughed.

"You ladiesss may have won thisss round, but Chronosss will not lossse the war."

"You just keep telling yourself that snake." Steffie commented on the matter condescendingly.

"I will be prepared by the next time!"

"I'm counting on it." Shira smirked. The big snake slithered off the place and the gang.

"Whew, well that was intense. Good thing no one was poisoned." Ronal was relieved that no one was seriously injured.

"Just the way I like my women." Albert joked, which was ignored, because finally everyone was allowed to eat. Some of them already fed during the exciting fight. But the ladies had to wait and only now could they fill their bellies.

* * *

But the fellowship could not even go long their way, which looked like they would continue to travel this place until something happened again. It also happened when a small light appeared in front of them and grew larger very quickly.

"Whoa! What's that ?!" Sid was completely amazed, because you rarely see something like that, if ever.

"A portal." The raccoon explained calmly in their midst, because apparently this one knew about everything.

"I sense ... a human presence beyond that portal. Could be a friend or foe." Elric said in a meditation pose on one of the mammoths.

"Just hope it's a friend." Wished her newest companion.

Then, something jumped out of the vortex of light, what was called Portal and the figure was revealed. A human in a set of interwoven metal plates over chainmail and a brown tattered cape. That was topped by a brown hood over a visored barbuta helmet made to protect against a stray arrow or blade strike and a silver wolf head medallion.

The stranger saw the eyes of his medallion red and then looked over at the crowd of strange animals. Suddenly the medallion began to hum.

"Who the hell are you guys?" The stranger asked a little rude and impatiently.

"Hey, easy now. Everything's okay. No worries, we're cool." Ronal's knees were shaking a little, because the guy looked just as unpleasant as the snake from before.

Grayson watched the glowing piece of jewelry and what was left of the other person wearing it.

"That medallion looks like trouble." He did not withdraw and said what he thought as he stepped closer with his conch shell bo staff to the suddenly appeared stranger.

"Ugh, crap like this, exactly why I hate portals." The human complained and eyed the little animal just as carefully and with sly eyes.

"Here I come!" Grayson shouted abruptly and his opponent just deflected the incoming attack with light blue magic and one wave of the hand.

"What ...?" That was the only thing the heroic raccoon could say because he didn't expect it.

"Don't fight with a monster hunter."

"We're not monsters, we're animals." Grayson replied a little grimly.

"If so, prove it to me."

"I'll handle this." Grayson said then and turned to Buck, who then came up with Hercules' sword.

"Yes, ringtail?" Although the weasel with the eye patch knew what to do next.

"How about you give it a go?" Suggested the raccoon with his paws shifted.

"No, I do. This is my chance to be in a duel." The female weasel, however, got ahead of Buckminster because she was bored again.

"Okay then. He's all yours." Grayson just managed to agree, even though he would have liked to see the new sword in action. Well, there will be a moment for that.

"Alrighty then. Let's do this." Tara grinned happily, because she had no good thoughts.

"Fine. For now, let's see what you're made of." The stranger nods in agreement and got out a long sword.

"Ah well, I'll have my chance, just you wait." But Buck's words were no longer heeded much when the fighters went into position. Tara and the mysterious human immediately began to swing their weapons and let them ring at each other.

"Impressive skills." The stranger noticed when jumping back to think of something new. Because despite the difference in size, the weasel did not want to be brought to the ground so easily.

"Thanks, I've been training a lot." She said dryly and swung her ax around again.

"But it won't be enough to slow me down." And he rammed her with his shoulder as she jumped towards him.

"Ah!" Tara was thrown back.

"Ooh!" Grayson looked surprised.

"That's gotta hurt!" Manny commented on the side.

Before the female weasel fell back first to the ground, she used her ax to turn a little.

"HEEYAAH!" So when her feet touched the ground, she immediately jumped at the enemy again.

He still found the time to heal his wounds. Just with a pat on his hand, yet it was unharmed.

"Okay, that's just not fair." The shield maid wanted to be able to do that too, but you wear scars with pride.

"I think you're right, but it's only fair if we're not sparing and I use magic for other things and whenever our lives are in danger." Said the man.

"Yeah, I'll let you live." The weasel lady paused because that was helpful.

"Good choice." The stranger took off the hood and the helmet.

"And who are you?" Squint answered again.

"My name ... is Leon Aventus, monster hunter." The guy introduced himself almost calmly.

"Nice to meet you, Leon. Let me introduce you to all of us." So it took a while before everyone was named and introduced by the raccoon.

"So, you're the Fellowship against Chronos, huh? I know Chronos, he was with a female succubus at a temple once." Leon explained when they were around.

"If that's so, we may need to be careful. Any moment he could pop up and possibly fight us." Grayson seemed certain of that.

"Unlikely, his generals seemed solely focused on you all. Next relic we need to find is either Poseidon's trident or Hades' ember." That occurred to the people without thinking about it much.

"I think we all know the right thing to do." The raccoon looked at Scrat.

"Well?" He inquired and bent down a little to the squirrel, even if he wasn't that much bigger.

"Help us choose between the two relics."

"Okay, let me think in just a hot second." Scrat replied, looking thoughtful.

"I got it! We'll head to the Underworld next!" After a while of silence, it shot out of the little animal.

"That's where Hades and his ember are." The monster hunter gave his knowledge.

"Hey guys, you might need to be careful." Ronal says that a little shakily, as if he really doesn't want to go hiking with them anymore.

"Why?" Manny looked down at the new squirrel on their team.

"What is it?" Sidney joined them too.

"Speak, Ronal." Diego also demanded because the smaller one just looked back and forth in fear.

"Hades has a three headed beast that acts like a giant dog. Cerberus. If it sees you, you'll all end up as its own chew toys." Ronal shivered like leaves on a tree when he said this.

"We don't want to be chew toys!" Crash wailed on the head of the saber-tooth that sat nearby.

"What he said! I'm a possum, not something gummy!" Eddie didn't think it was funny either.

"Maybe if we get past that giant pooch, then maybe we would get to Hades." Teddy thought it was worth considering.

"Yeah, and right on time too, it's his nap time." Ronal suddenly agreed, less fearful.

"So, uh, I'm no sneaking expert but, should we do the sneaking by day or night?" Albert inquired, who also wondered if it wasn't noticeable when so many animals and one human sneak past this creature.

"I prefer the midnight hour, because it's sneakier." Said the monster expert in their midst.

"Why not now? It'll be much faster than waiting for a long time." Gertie also felt that they shouldn't waste time all the time. If they had to do that, then not in a place where her father would keep watching her as if she was still a baby. Her mother said that he was only worried about her because Louis was her first boyfriend. Fathers then quickly become more protective than before. The female Dakotaraptor still did not understand how the prickly one can be dangerous to her. Well, maybe she'll just ask him later when something less urgent is on the agenda again.

"Let's go through your option." Scrat didn't feel like the creature mentioned, but waiting sounded even less exciting.

"Fine." Leon sighed in annoyance, because, in his opinion, nobody here except him knew what to expect.

"We can go now. But we better not end up as a giant mutt's chew toy. Otherwise, it's on all of your heads." He said that more grimly, because he is not going to play the nanny here. Everyone has to see where they stay when they pull this off.

"Trust us, we're the fellowship. We can do anything." Grayson was as optimistic as ever.

"Err ... yeah. What he said." Manfred also nodded, because what else he had to report here.

"Hmm ..." The monster hunter didn't say much more about it. If this Fellowship can defeat Chronos, maybe I'll find my way home, he thought with little hope, because he was already failed because of previous things.

"Aventus! Come on!" Steffie drove the Brat Pack on and the others followed.

"Coming!" Leon ran to the Fellowship and lined up behind Shira.

* * *

**GrayestLobster7:** And so, with two relics at hand and some new allies along the way, the Fellowship have made it to Olympus. Two relics down, six to go. What's the story behind Tara's deal with the Fire King? Will our Fellowship get past Cerberus and get the ember? Or will they fail in the name to bite the dust? Stay tuned as the journey continues.


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